A Mutant Family
by Charmeleon
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or X-men. This is both a crossover and an AU. I thought of this idea Monday before I went to bed. Full summary inside.
1. The Merge

There was a fanfic author on ff.net who said that he/she was considering writing and YGO/X-men crossover. I'm sorry that I can't remember your penname, but this one is for you. In this fic, Yami and Yugi are brothers born on the same day, three years apart. Their lives will be forever changed when they find out that they are mutants. They will have to face persecution to help the X-men in their quest for mutants and humans to live peacefully.  
' is thoughts  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: The Merge  
  
It was a lovely day in a forest about 20 miles south of Tokyo. Yugi and his brother Yami Yin lived happily with their mother. She had a name that described her personality down to the hilt. She was named Star because everyone saw her as a bright and cheery person. Yugi was born on the same day and time as Yami, but three years apart.  
For a three-year difference, Yugi and Yami could've almost easily been mistaken for identical twins. Both had violet eyes, but Yami's were a little slanted whereas Yugi's were wide and childlike. They both had red, black and blonde hair, but Yami's had bangs that streaked up like lightning in the black part of his hair. The one thing that set them apart was their height. Yugi was 4'6", and Yami was 6'.   
If not for the fact that Yugi was 13-years old and hasn't grown any taller since he was 7, Yami being taller would have been typical since he was the older of the two. Yugi didn't mind his short height though. He dealt with it and only did things that his height allowed him to do. He really looked up to Yami.  
Yami was the top student of his sophomore year at Tokyo Tech. He learned very fast and graduated from high school at only twelve. After graduation, he stayed home for three years to help his mother take care of the house while she was away at work. Star worked at the gardens about ten miles from the house. She worked from 9am-5pm.  
Yugi was the average kid as far as school grade levels. He was a 7th grader at Tokyo Middle School. It was a small school and was only five miles north of where he lived so he just walked to and from school. Yami drove to and from school because his school was in the city. He preferred to live with his family and that's why he was a commuter instead of an on campus student. Yami hoped to be a computer technician after graduating from college.  
"I want to be like you Yami," Yugi said.  
"Oh, and why's that?" Yami asked.  
"You go past your limits to help those in need. You're also on your way to being successful with your life. I don't have things as simple as you," Yugi responded.  
"I don't have things simple at all Yugi. College is work in itself. I did a lot of work be become the top student. You also go past your limits to help people; you just don't realize it yet. I've seen you do many things that your height wouldn't allow you to do. Two examples are when I taught you how to climb things, and teaching you how to swim. You're even better than me at that. Mother and I are very proud of you for all you've accomplished," Yami said.  
Yugi smiled when Yami bent down and hugged him. Yugi loved him greater than his own life. Yami returned that love tenfold. If the time should come for it he would die to keep his little brother safe. Yugi meant everything to Yami. Star was proud of both her sons; she loved them both to death.  
'Yami, I'm beginning to feel something strange about you. Could it be that you're going to be like your father soon?' Star thought. She had never told Yugi or Yami that their father was a Centaur {1} . She had a vision that Yami was going to become a Centaur like his father, but from a special form of horse. She couldn't have been more right because since he was five, Yami had the same one dream every night.  
The dream: Yami was walking through the forest when he came across a unicorn {2} taking a drink from a lake. The unicorn was whiter than snow with a mane that shimmered in the light. Yami had never seen an animal more beautiful in his life. The unicorn saw him, but didn't run away. It just walked up to him, as he walked toward it.  
A mysterious female voice {3} said that during his 16th year, he would permanently merge with the female unicorn. When he was close to the unicorn, he and the unicorn were surrounded in a golden light. When the light died down, Yami saw that the unicorn's body replaced his legs and that he had the unicorn's horn sticking out of his forehead.  
He trotted through the forest. After an hour, he felt like he ran on air. He looked down to see that he was flying. He felt that he was flapping wings and he turned to see pure white wings on the front of the unicorn half of his body. The mysterious voice told him that his destiny was to be with a group of people with abilities and powers that no ordinary person could do. Those people were called the X-men.  
'I wonder who the X-men are,' Yami thought. 'I know that what I keep having is no dream now. For me to keep having the same dream every night since I was five must mean that this is going to happen soon.' He didn't know how right he was.  
Meanwhile, the unicorn that Yami would soon merge with has also had the same dream since she was a foal. In the dream, a female voice told her that she would merge with a human male. This unicorn was a special one. She had white wings and great magical powers given to her by the goddess Artemis. The rest of the unicorn's kind was captured for the healing qualities they possessed. Artemis took the remaining unicorn under her wing and took care of it. Anyone who tried to capture or kill the unicorn was killed on the spot. Artemis had a big plan for the unicorn and Yami.  
The days passed, and summer break for Yugi and Yami came. Yami couldn't help but wonder about the vision he had for a while.  
"What's bothering you Yami?" Yugi asked.  
"I've been having the same dream every night since I was five. It was about me merging with a unicorn to become a Centaur. I had pure white wings and flew as effortlessly as an eagle. A strange voice told me that my destiny was to help out a group of people called the X-men," Yami responded.  
"I heard of them. A man named Professor Charles Xavier leads them. They live at a place called the Xavier Institute. They're all mutants who try to blend in with the normal people but are feared instead because of their powers and abilities," Yugi said. "Maybe your destiny is to help them to show people that not all mutants are evil like they believe."  
"You may be right Yugi," Yami said.  
They both spent their summer caring for the house while their mother worked. Occasionally, Yugi and Yami's friends would come by and they would all hang out somewhere. One hot July Saturday, Yami took a stroll in the forest. An hour later, he came across a unicorn taking a drink in the lake.  
'That's the unicorn from my dream,' Yami thought as he approached the unicorn.  
A unicorn would usually run away when it saw a stranger, but this one just walked up to Yami. Just like in Yami's dream, this unicorn was whiter than snow and had a shimmering mane. He figured that her wings were tucked in her body. He smiled at the unicorn, and the unicorn smiled at him.  
"It's good to finally meet you after dreaming about you for 11 years," Yami said.  
The unicorn neighed happily. They closed the gap, and Yami hugged the unicorn. At that moment, they were bathed in a golden light. A few minutes later, the light dimmed out to reveal a new Centaur. Yami tilted his head down to see that the unicorn's body replaced his legs. He looked at his forehead to see her horn sticking out. He stretched out his wings and flew for home.  
'Wait until Yugi and my mother see me,' Yami thought.  
Meanwhile, Yugi was outside watering the flowers. Half an hour later, he felt cooler. 'That's a strange, the sun was on my back,' he thought. He looked up to see something blocking out the sun's heat.  
As the thing came closer, Yugi barely made out wings coming from part of its body. A few moments later, Yami landed in front of Yugi. Yugi stared at him in awe.  
"You're a Centaur, just like in your dream," Yugi said in awe.  
"Yes I am," Yami said.  
"Mom, come out here. You have to see this," Yugi said.  
"Okay Yugi," Star said. She came out and smiled. "So, it finally happened."  
"You knew?" Yami asked.  
"Yes my son, I did," Star responded.  
"How did you know?" Yugi asked.  
"Well I guess it's time to tell you. Your father was a Centaur," Star responded.  
"How come I never knew him?" Yugi asked.  
"And how come I don't remember him?" Yami asked.  
"Three months before Yugi was born, a group of sentinels came to our house. Their only instructions were to kill him," Star responded.  
"But don't they only target mutants?" Yugi asked.  
"Yugi, a mutant is anyone with a power or ability that no ordinary person can do. A mutant is also someone who literally looks different from a regular person. Your father was kind of like the Beast. Beast looks like an animal and can hang upside down like a bat, but is human in every other way. Your father tried to get away, but was killed by an accurately timed laser blast in only ten minutes. I've always kept this a secret because I wanted you to be happy and not let this ruin your lives," Star responded.  
"Well, now I know my destiny is clear. I have to find the X-men and help them in their quest for humans and mutants to live peacefully," Yami said.  
At the Xavier institute, Prof. Charles Xavier was using Cerebrum to detect a new mutant. He picked one up in the forest area 20 miles south of Tokyo.  
"Any luck Professor?" Jean Grey asked.  
"Yes Jean. Cerebrum has picked up a mutant in the forest area around Tokyo," Xavier responded.  
"Storm's in the area. Maybe you should get her to check it out," Jean suggested.  
"An excellent idea Jean," Xavier said. He contacted Storm through Cerebrum and told her about the detected mutant.  
"I'll check it out Professor. Storm out," Storm said before flying through the air.  
Meanwhile, Yami gave Yugi a ride on his back. Yugi liked the fact that Yami could give him a horseback ride since he had a horse's back. Yami trotted through the forest. An hour later, he flew through the sky. Yugi enjoyed the feeling of the open air, and the view he got of the forest. That didn't last much longer as a sentinel confronted them.  
"Yugi, hold on. We're getting away from here," Yami said as he sped off towards the city.  
The sentinel followed while firing laser beams at the same time. One of the beams unintentionally hit Yugi, and he fell off his brother's back.  
"Yugi!" Yami cried and dove after him.  
The sentinel also dove after him in attempt to get him before Yami did. Yami was faster and caught Yugi in his arms. Then Yami disappeared and reappeared back at home. Star was just sitting on the porch when she saw Yugi unconscious in Yami's arms.  
"What happened?" she asked with extreme concern.  
"Yugi and I were having a good time in the forest when a sentinel blocked us off. I flew away, hoping to lose it when it fired as it followed me. It unintentionally hit Yugi, and he fell off my back. The sentinel tried to catch him before me, but I caught him before it did. Then I teleported here," Yami responded.  
"Come with me mutant or you will be destroyed," a robotic voice said.  
Yami looked up to see another sentinel hovering in the air. He was angry with the one that hurt his brother. He gently laid Yugi down and flew at the sentinel. As he closed the distance, his body turned into pure energy. He flew straight through the sentinel, and it blew up. He then landed next to his mother. He lay down next to Yugi and healed him.  
"Are you all right little bro?" Yami asked.  
"I am now," Yugi responded.  
"That was awesome," a female voice said.  
Star, Yami and Yugi looked up to see a dark-skinned female with white hair and wearing white clothing land in front of them.  
"Who are you?" Star asked.  
"They call me Storm," Storm responded.  
"I heard of you. You control the weather," Yugi said.  
"That's right," Storm said. "And who may you three be?" she added.  
"My name is Yami, and this is my younger brother Yugi and my mother Star," Yami responded.  
"Professor Xavier sent me to find you Yami," Storm said.  
"I know Storm. My destiny is to help you in your quest for humans and mutants to live peacefully, and I'm ready to accept it," Yami said.  
"Can I go with you?" Yugi asked.  
"I don't see why not. I have a feeling that we're going to need your help too," Yami responded. He hugged his mother and said, "I'll visit whenever I can mother. Take care of yourself."  
"Take care of yourself too my son. Be safe Yugi," Star said.  
"I will. Yami will see to that," Yugi said as he hugged his mother. Then he got on Yami's back.  
Storm led them to the Blackbird II, and they got aboard. Storm took the controls and headed for the Institute while Yugi lay next to Yami. Yugi was unaware that his DNA was also mutated. Like Yami, the mutant part of him lay dormant. Yugi would find out that he was also a mutant.  
  
  
  
  
Done with the first chapter. Should I go on? Preview for Chapter 2: A New Mutant: While Yami learns his powers and how to control them, Yugi is aware of something growing inside him. When the Institute is under a sentinel attack, Yugi's mutant power is unleashed. What is his power? You'll have to stay tuned to find out.  
  
{1} A unicorn is a horse with a horn sticking out of its head. Unicorn literally means "one horn".  
  
{2} A Centaur is a creature of Greek Mythology that is half man half horse.  
  
{3} To all those who guessed that Artemis was the mysterious and strange female voice, congratulations, you're right.  



	2. A New Mutant

Recap: Yugi and Yami lived happily with their mother. Not knowing about their father, their lives were pretty normal. But Yami kept having the vision that he would merge with the legendary unicorn during his 16th year of life. During the summer of his 16th year, his vision came to pass when he merged with the last unicorn in the world. It turned out that this unicorn was very unique in its own right because it could fly and it had great powers that Yami found out when a pair of sentinels attacked. Storm was in the area and saw what happened. She, Yami and Yugi are headed back for the Institute.  
' is thoughts  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 2: A New Mutant  
  
It was a peaceful ride so far in the Blackbird II. Yugi had fallen asleep next to Yami. Yami smiled and watched him sleep. Storm had put the jet on automatic pilot after telling the professor about Yami and Yugi. Then she joined Yami in watching Yugi sleep. It was getting dark anyway, and they needed to rest as well.  
"We should get some rest," Storm said. "The jet is on autopilot and will take us to our destination."  
Yami nodded and went to sleep himself. Storm soon joined him, and all three were asleep. Prof. Xavier monitored their position with Cerebrum. He was a little worried because a big storm was brewing over the ocean, and they were heading right into it. He didn't know if Storm could hold the storm off until the jet made it out.  
"Something wrong Professor?" Cyclops asked.  
"The Blackbird II is on a collision course with a strengthening typhoon. I'm not sure whether Storm can hold out long enough," Xavier responded.  
The next morning, fierce turbulence awakened Storm, Yami and Yugi.  
"What's going on?" Yugi asked.  
"We're in a typhoon," Storm responded. "I only hope I can hold it off until we're out," she added as she created an electric field over the jet. She was straining to keep the shield up. "I can't keep this up. The typhoon's too strong," she said. Suddenly, she felt something helping her hold the storm off.  
"You need to take a break Storm. Don't worry; I can handle this on my own," Yami said.  
"Thank you," Storm said as she sat down in one of the seats. She was amazed because Yami didn't strain even a little bit. "You're powers are greater than mine," she added.  
Back at the Institute, Charles Xavier was quite amazed himself. "Something's holding off the typhoon, but it's not Storm," he said.  
"Do you think that Yami is doing it?" Jubilee said.  
"I do think that Yami's doing it. I can feel that his powers are just about unlimited," Xavier responded.  
An hour later, the Blackbird II was out of the typhoon, and Yami let the shield down. Thanks to the shield, they were still on course fro the Institute. It would be another day before they reached the Institute, and the weather would cooperate for the rest of the trip.  
"You're amazing bro," Yugi said.  
"I'm pretty amazed myself Yugi. I can't wait to learn all my powers," Yami said.  
"The Institute is just the place to do that Yami," Storm said. "We should be there tomorrow."  
"I want to stretch my wings. I'll stay in front of the jet," Yami said.  
"May I go with you?" Yugi asked.  
"Sure you can," Yami responded as he lay down so Yugi could get on.   
Yugi climbed on Yami's back, and Yami stood up. Storm opened the door, and Yami flew out. He flew out about one yard in front of the jet. Storm was amazed again to see how gracefully Yami flew. The only bird she knew that could fly that gracefully was an eagle.  
'He flies like an eagle,' Storm thought.  
Yami didn't come back in to rest until nightfall. Once back in the jet, Yami lay down, and Yugi slept on him. Yami and Storm soon fell asleep themselves. At 9am the next morning, the jet landed at the Institute. The X-men stood outside in wait for Storm, Yami and Yugi to come out. The stairs to the jet came down, and the door opened. Storm walked out followed by Yami with Yugi on his back.  
"What is he?" Beast asked.  
"I've read about Greek Mythology from books and encyclopedias. Yami is a creature called a Centaur. A Centaur is half person half horse," Xavier responded.  
"But what about the horn sticking out from his head Professor?" Jean asked.  
"I wasn't born a Centaur. I became one by permanently merging with a unicorn," Yami responded.  
"He's right. I have seen some unicorns in my lifetime so I know what they smell like. I can smell the scent of a unicorn from him," Wolverine said.  
"He can fly too. He flies as gracefully as an eagle but a lot faster," Storm added.  
"Let's get inside and we can get acquainted a little better," Xavier said.  
Everyone nodded, and they all went inside the Institute. They went to the Danger Room. It was deactivated for the time being.  
"Well Yami and Yugi, I guess that it's time for introductions. As you might have heard, my name is Professor Charles Xavier, and I'm the founder of the X-men. We have worked hard for people and mutants to live in harmony, but there are still those who fear us because of our abilities. For example, Jean Grey here and I are psychics," Xavier said.  
"Why are you in that hover chair?" Yami said.  
"I used to be a scientist for the armed forces a long time ago. The enemy troops caught us off guard, and I was injured. My legs were beyond repair, and I could never walk again," Xavier responded.  
"My name is Scott Summers, but I am better known as Cyclops. I lead the X-men whenever we're on a mission. This visor that I wear over my eyes helps me to control the lasers that I fire from my eyes," Cyclops said.  
"What do your eyes look like?" Yugi asked.  
"An innocent question deserves an answer," Cyclops responded as he took off his visor for a few seconds before putting it back on.  
"No offense, but your eyes look creepy," Yugi said, regretting that he asked.  
"None taken Yugi. My eyes have looked like I was possessed by something most of my life," Cyclops said.  
"My name is Hank, but I'm better known as the Beast. I was once a science teacher at Cyclops, Jean and Rogue's high school. I still work on experiments, but here at the Institute. I became the Beast by a scientifical experiment gone wrong," Beast said.  
"I am known as the Rogue. I wear gloves just about all of the time because I can absorb the energy of a human or another mutant without them on when I touch someone. Also, don't kiss me because I can absorb your energy from that too. Fortunately, the power drain is only temporary. I can fly and I have great strength, but that was from a permanent power drain that I took from a superhero when I was a young woman," Rogue said.  
Sensing that Rogue didn't want to talk about that, Yami didn't ask anything about it.  
"My name's Logan, but I'm better known as Wolverine. I can heal myself; I can track someone just by scent, and I had claws made from an indestructible material called adamantium built into my hands," Wolverine said.  
"I am known as Gambit. I can give anything I touch a charge. I use charged cards as weapons," Gambit said.  
"Last but not least, my name is Jubilee. My power is like exploding fireworks. I once did a lot of damage with them, but thanks to Professor Xavier, I can control it. I am so glad to meet a mutant around my age because I'm only 16," Jubilee said.  
"You don't say. I'm 16 as well, and my brother Yugi here on my back is 13," Yami said.  
"Well, I can tell that Jubilee, Yami and Yugi are going to get along just fine," Jean said smiling.  
"They sure are," Cyclops said.  
"You and Yami look almost exactly alike apart from Yami being a Centaur and the three-year difference between you Yugi," Rogue said.  
"I know. When Yami was still completely human, the only think that told us apart was our heights. Yami was 6' while I'm only 4'6"," Yugi said.  
"Now Yami, do you want to get started on your training?" Xavier asked.  
"I'm ready Professor," Yami responded. "Time to get off Yugi," he added before lying down.  
Yugi got off Yami's back, and Jubilee led him to the living room. Yami felt something odd about Yugi. He would talk about it after his training session. He stood up and prepared to give it a go. Xavier felt that something was on Yami's mind.  
"Something's on your mind," Xavier said.  
"Yeah, I felt something strange about Yugi," Yami said.  
"It seems that you have psychic abilities as well. I also sensed something out of place with him. I'm sure he's feeling it as well. We'll talk to him about it later. Let's get started," Xavier said.  
Yami nodded, and the Professor went to the control part of the room. He activated the room at the medium level since it was clear that Yami would have no trouble with the easy level. Holding off the typhoon and easily defeating a sentinel proved that. The easy level was the sentinels anyway. Yami ran through the room when buzz saws came out of the walls. Yami put a force field around himself as he galloped on.  
The saws were destroyed on contact with the force field. Ten minutes later, the saws stopped coming, and Yami removed his force field. Then the walls and ceiling started closing in on him. He ran fast and hard. He ended up barging right through the wall with no problem at all.  
"Very impressive Yami. You're doing this as if you've done it before. This is the medium level, and you're making it look very easy," Xavier said.  
"If this is medium, I would love to try the hard level," Yami said. "I haven't even broken a sweat yet."  
"Very well Yami," Xavier said as he set the level on hard.  
The room had laser beams going in every direction going halfway through. Past there, there were robots equipped with laser and chemical energy, lasers that shot out from the wall and disintegrating rays and white laser guns hanging from the ceiling. Yami started off by using his force field again to run through the laser beam area. Once he was halfway through the room, the other traps came at once.  
Yami spread his wings and flew into the air. He destroyed the laser guns and disintegration rays first with a charge of electricity. The lasers fired at him from the walls, and the robots came for him. He closed his eyes in concentration for a powerful attack. A white glow outlined his body. Soon, the white glow turned golden as he focused his fire energy into his laser energy.  
Then he spread his attack out. The lasers from the walls and robots were only absorbed in the attack. The lasers were disarmed, and the robots were destroyed. Yami landed, and the room reverted back to normal. He went outside, and the Professor soon joined him.  
"That was an impressive display of skill and power Yami. I've never seen anyone as strong and powerful as you before," Xavier said. "Let's head to the living room."  
Yami nodded, and they went to the living room. They found Yugi and Jubilee just talking away.  
"I see that you two are getting along quite well," Yami said smiling.  
"Yeah, Yugi was just telling me about where you and he lived. It must be paradise to live in a beautiful forest," Jubilee said.  
"It is for the most part," Yami said. "The Professor and I need to talk with you Yugi."  
"Okay," Yugi said as Xavier led them to his room.  
"Yugi, have you felt weird at all today?" Xavier asked.  
"Now that you mention it, I had a weird feeling that began when I was on the jet. It feels like something's growing inside me like a flower getting ready to bloom. I'm wondering if I"m a mutant as well," Yugi responded.  
"That could be the case Yugi," Yami said.  
"But what is my power?" Yugi asked.  
"We'll have to wait until it blooms to find out," Yami responded.  
Meanwhile, the scientists at the sentinel factory were planning an attack on the Institute. They had heard about the newest mutant joining forces with the X-men. To them, all mutants were a plague that needed to be vanquished forever.  
"You have your orders my creations. Attack the Xavier Institute and destroy the mutants there," the head scientist said.  
"As you command master," the sentinels said. The group of six sentinels headed for the Xavier Institute to carry out their orders.  
Meanwhile, Yugi felt that his power could come to the surface at any time. He and everyone at the Institute wondered what his power could be. They only got another few hours of peace before the door was blasted open. The next thing to come off was the roof. The X-men looked up to see a sentinel crush the roof. Everyone fled the building, but only got outside as the six sentinels surrounded them.  
"Destroy the mutants," the sentinels said as they all fired at once.   
Yami protected everyone with his force field. A mutant would usually strain hard to keep up a shield with six sentinels firing at once, but Yami held the force field up effortlessly. The sentinels ceased their fire since it clearly wasn't going to put a dent in Yami's shield.  
"Be ready to attack everyone. Yami, the moment you take off your shield is the moment we all attack," Cyclops said.  
"You got it Cyclops," Yami said. He took off his force field and started the attack.  
Everyone except Yugi also joined the attack. Their separate powers and abilities helped them to destroy the sentinels. But that wasn't the end of it as reinforcements came. This group had three times as many sentinels and provided more of a challenge for them. The X-men found themselves outnumbered. Yugi felt helpless as the sentinels started to gain the upper hand over the battle.  
"I wish I could do something. I have to help my friends," Yugi said in desperation. Then he felt something bloom inside of him. He was bathed in yellow light and he fired two solar beams at two of the sentinels' heads.  
The sentinels fell down and ceased functioning. The other X-men had seen what happened.  
"Yugi, you have solar power," Yami said.  
"Let's take care of these dim bots," Yugi said.  
"I like your attitude Yugi," Wolverine said.  
"I agree. Let's show these tin cans that they can't fool around with us," Yami said.  
"Yeah, let's get them," Jubilee said.  
The battle raged on for half an hour. Then, the one sentinel who didn't take part in the battle suddenly grabbed Yugi and Jubilee. That caught them both off guard. The sentinel then used sleeping gas so Yugi and Jubilee wouldn't struggle. Then it flew off.   
"Yugi! Jubilee!" the X-men cried.  
"The sentinel is probably heading back to its base," Jean said.  
"We must stop it," Yami said.  
"I agree Yami," Cyclops said. "We have to act now."  
"And as fast as possible. As Storm told you, I can fly faster than your jet," Yami said.  
"Yami can go on ahead. The rest of us will follow in the Blackbird," Xavier said.  
Yami nodded and spread his wings. He quickly flew off to stop the sentinel from reaching its base. He easily got within five yards of the sentinel. 'Now to give Yugi and Jubilee a wake up call,' he thought. He fired a stream of white magic from his mind at Yugi and Jubilee.  
Yugi and Jubilee felt the magic and soon woke up.  
"What happened?" Yugi asked.  
"The last thing I remember is the sentinel grabbing us and spraying sleep gas on us," Jubilee responded.  
Yugi looked behind the sentinel and saw Yami trailing it. "Yami's behind the sentinel," he mouthed to Jubilee.  
Jubilee got the message. The sentinel didn't know that Yami was following it yet.  
'Well, it is time that I let it know where I am,' Yami thought. "Hey you big pile of cylinders, look behind you!" he said.  
The sentinel looked back and saw Yami following it. It prepared to fire lasers from its eyes.  
"Oh no you don't!" Yugi and Jubilee shouted as they fired at its eyes.  
That was both a good move and a bad move. The sentinel couldn't fire, but it couldn't see where it was going either.  
'Oh no, the sentinel's blind! I've got to get Yugi and Jubilee now!' Yami thought.  
If the sentinel being blind wasn't bad enough, the shot it took in the eyes badly damaged it's interior power core. It shut down and began to plummet to the ground far below.  
"Yugi, Jubilee, use your powers to get free!" Yami said, as he dove after them.  
Yugi and Jubilee complied and destroyed the sentinel's hands. Yami disintegrated the remainder of the sentinel. Soon, he caught Jubilee in his arms, and Yugi on his back. He broke the dive and flew for the Blackbird. He met up with it half an hour later. Rogue flew over, and Yami placed Jubilee in her arms.  
"Are you two all right?" Yami asked.  
"Yes we are. Thank you for saving Yugi and me," Jubilee responded.  
"It was nothing," Yami said.  
The group then headed for the ruined Institute. They arrived in an additional twenty minutes and landed.  
"What are we going to do now," Storm asked.  
"Don't worry. I'll fix it up," Yami responded. He flew over the destroyed complex and waved his tail.  
A violet stream of magic flowed through it and covered the Institute. A few minutes later, the Institute was as good as new. Yami landed just outside the door.  
"Well Yugi, now we know what your power is. You have the power of the sun in you," Xavier said.  
"Yeah, but I don't have complete control over it yet," Yugi said. "I can't feel it anymore."  
"That's how my powers once started out Yugi. They would surface whenever they felt like it. With training, you can control your powers like I can control mine now," Jubilee said.  
Cyclops put an arm around Yugi, and his other arm around Yami. "Welcome to the X-men. You're part of us now," he said.  
"I am honored to be one of you," Yugi said, as Cyclops helped him off Yami.  
"As am I," Yami agreed.  
  
  
  
End of Chapter two. Preview for Chapter 3: Run in with Magneto: Yugi learns to control his powers as he and Yami train in the Danger Room. There, an amazing discovery is made. Yugi and Yami are like Gemini. Their love for each other makes them stronger and more powerful. In other words, their love is their bond. Magneto, the still archenemy of the X-men, happens to come across them one day. He offers that they join him. What will their reaction be? You'll find out when the chapter comes out.  
  
Oh and to Saisaishi: Having Yugi be a mutant who can turn into any animal he wishes was too typical to me. That's being done so much now, that you expect it. I'm trying to do something that isn't so predictable. Even if it seems like I'm doing the same stuff in my stories as others, I'm not because I add a different twist to them. 


	3. Run in with Magneto

Recap: Yami trained in the Danger Room to get a better grip on his powers. To Professor X's amazment, Yami went through the medium and hard level settings like they were a piece of cake. Yugi felt his power growing inside him, waiting to bloom. It took a sentinel attack for him to discover his powers. The others found out that he had the power of the sun. One of the sentinels attempted to bring Yugi and Jubilee back to its base, but Yami put a stop to that.  
' is thoughts  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 3: Run in with Magneto   
  
While fighting the sentinels, Yugi discovered that he had the power of the sun in him. Yami successfully thwarted a capture attempt that one of the sentinels unxpectedly made. Now, Yugi would need to learn to control his powers so they would always come when he needed them.  
"Well Yami, it seems that your brother will be you training partner," Xavier said.  
"I couldn't have had a better person as a partner," Yami said. "Yugi and I did virtually everything together when we were at home and now we can do just about everything together now."  
"We sure can, and I like it," Yugi said.  
"Take a rest period and be in the Danger Room at 1pm," Xavier said.  
Yugi and Yami nodded and went off with Jubilee.  
"Hey Yami, can you give us a ride on your back?" Jubilee asked.  
"I don't see why not," Yami responded as he lay down.  
Yugi and Jubilee got on, and Yami stood back up. Then he walked off. It was 10am currently, so Yugi and Yami had three hours of free time. Yami came to the city and walked on. Mostly, the people were more amazed than anything when they saw Yami. They wondered what he could be. Among the everyday crowd were the scientists of the sentinel factory.  
They heard all the amazement and went over to see what made the people so amazed. When they saw Yami, the were very amazed themselves. They have also read Greek Mythology so they knew that he was a Centaur. When they went around the crowd to get a closer look, they saw a horn sticking out of Yami's head.  
"So, what do you guys think so far?" Jubilee asked.  
"This city is amazing. The buildings here are even taller than the ones in Tokyo," Yami responded.  
"Why is she with them?" Greg, the head scientist asked.  
"They must be part of the band of mutants she's with now," Julie, another scientist said.  
"There are too many people here Yami. Let's get some more peace and quiet," Yugi said.  
"I follow you," Yami said as he spread his wings and took to the air.   
The people were a lot more amazed now. The sentinels were on their way. They arrived in half an hour and quickly surrounded Yami. The scientists were on the roof of a nearby building to get a better look.   
"Let's take care of these peace spoilers," Yami said.  
Yugi and Jubilee nodded. Yugi closed his eyes to concentrate on tapping into his power. He felt the heat rise within him and fired a solar beam at one of the sentinels' chest. The beam went straight through and destroyed it.  
"Nice work Yugi," Jubilee said.  
"It's not over yet," Yugi said as he destroyed another one.  
"Hey, save some for me," Jubilee said as she fired at another one's head.  
"Don't forget me," Yami said as he fired a destroyer ray from his horn.  
The three of them made quick work of the sentinels. Then Yami flew on through the air. The enjoyed peace for most of the rest of their free time. At 12:45pm, Yami teleported on the ground inside the Institute. Jubilee jumped off his back.  
"Thanks for the ride Yami. It was fun. We'll have to do that more often," she said.  
"You're welcome, and we will do it more often," Yami said before walking to the Danger Room. "Are you ready Yugi?" he asked.  
"Yes I am big bro," Yugi responded. "I can't feel my powers again. Hopefully, this will help me to feel them all the time.  
"For some strange reason, I really didn't need to train. It was like I already had control of my powers. Maybe the unicorn learned about her powers before I merged with her," Yami said.  
"The unicorn was female?" Yugi asked.  
"Yes," Yami responded. He chuckled at something unknown.  
"What are you chuckling at?" Yugi asked.  
"The unicorn can mentally talk to me. She just said that you're cute," Yami responded.  
Yugi blushed a little at that which caused Yami to laugh a little. The unicorn could talk to him mentally, but she still talked to him in her language. Yami could understand the unicorn, but he would find out that he could understand other animal languages another time. At 1pm, Yami entered the Danger Room. He lay down, and Yugi got off. Then he stood back up.  
"Right on time Yami. Are you two ready?" Cyclops said.  
"Yes we are," Yami and Yugi said.  
"The Professor got called away to be at a meeting with Senator Kelly. He asked me to run the Danger Room for him. I wanted to try something different today. Standby for activation," Cyclops said as he activated the Danger Room.  
The Danger Room took on the form of a jungle. It had lush trees and plants all over. But the beauty was just a cover up for the danger lurking within. For the Danger Room had taken the form of the Savage Lands. The Savage Lands were filled with natives who killed strangers without a second thought, as well as more predators than peaceful animals.  
"Why are we training in a jungle?" Yugi asked.  
"This is no ordinary jungle Yugi. I sense far more danger than a regular jungle here," Yami responded.  
"Yami's right Yugi. The Danger Room can become any place of our choosing. The place you see before you is the Savage Lands. The other X-men and I were taken there once and almost didn't come back alive. I set the level on easy until Yugi can control his powers. Once he does, then I'll put it on a harder setting as you go on," Cyclops said.  
"Well, we might as well go through this place," Yami said. "Stay close to me Yugi. This is not the place to get separated."  
Yugi nodded, and they walked through the jungle. A few minutes later, they heard the natives crying out something.  
"What are they crying about?" Yugi asked.  
"That's no regular cry. I sense that they're warning the others that we're here. Get ready for a fight if necessary," Yami responded.  
At that moment, a rattlesnake slowly slithered behind Yugi. It didn't make a sound as it very slowly coiled itself around him. He didn't feel it because it was going too slow for his senses to detect it. Yami just happened to turn around. He saw the snake and panicked.  
"Yugi!" he shouted.   
Yugi looked around him and saw the snake. He immediately panicked and tried to get it off him. Yami just watched helplessly. The snake's head was too close to Yugi to try anything.  
"Yugi, don't move. You'll get bitten," Yami warned.  
It was too late for a warning now. The snake bit Yugi's neck.  
"Aaahhh!" Yugi cried out in pain and fainted.  
"That does it," Yami said angrily.  
The snake moved its head to bite Yugi in the arm when Yami yanked it from around him. He gave it a mighty throw, and it went far off into the distance. Then he looked down at Yugi. A stream of blue magic came from his horn, and he healed Yugi's neck and dissolved the poison that started to go through Yugi's system.  
"Are you all right?" Yami asked.  
"I am now thanks to you," Yugi responded.  
Yami transported Yugi to his back. "I think it will be better for you to stay on my back. Hold on," Yami said.  
Yugi complied, and Yami galloped on. Suddenly, a spear came from one of the trees. Yami stopped just in time as the spear landed right in front of him. He reared up and broke the wooden part of the spear with his front legs.  
"Where did that come from?" Yugi asked.  
"It came from one of those trees up ahead," Yami responded. "I'm just glad I heard and sensed it in time to stop." He walked in front of the tree closest to the middle tree on the left side and kicked it with his hind legs.   
Sure enough, a native fell out of the tree. Yami prepared for anything. Then native fired a long blow dart from his blowgun. Yami used his force field to stop the dart. Then, more natives came and fired blow darts, spear and regular, fire and poison arrows. Yami's force field held no problem though. Suddenly, a golden light bathed the force field.  
"What's going on?" Yami asked confused. He got his answer when the native's ammunition began to burn up on contact with the field. He looked at Yugi to see a golden light coming from his head.  
"Save some of the work for me bro," Yugi said.  
"Let's take care of this group so we can move on," Yami said.  
Yugi nodded, and Yami turned his back to the right wall of the force field. He kicked it with his hind legs, and a little of Yugi's solar energy was released. He continued kicking as more of the solar energy was released. The group of natives fled through the trees. Yugi took the solar energy off the force field, and Yami took the force field off.  
"Nice work Yugi," Yami said.   
"You did pretty good yourself," Yugi said.  
"I can feel that you're starting to get the hang of your powers now. You're getting to be a fast learner like me," Yami said before galloping on.  
A few minutes later, they came across a white-haired female with strange clothing. She wore a rainbow-colored bathing suit. Yugi hoped to make friends with the strange woman, but Yami knew that there was something very wrong about her.  
"Maybe we can be friends," Yugi suggested.  
"No Yugi, I don't like the feeling I'm getting from her. I can feel that she's a mutant like us, but she has a black heart," Yami said.  
Yugi knew not to argue with Yami when it came to whom to trust. Whenever Yugi disregarded Yami's warnings about someone not trustworthy, he always ended up regretting it because Yami was right. The friends that they had have proven to be trustworthy and dependable.  
"So, you're mutants too. It's too bad that you've joined the X-men. We could've terrorized the human race," she said.  
"We may be mutants, but we were born from a human mother," Yugi said.  
"One that we love very much," Yami added.  
"I gave you the chance to join up with me, and you refused. So you both will die from high pitched sonic waves," she said as sonic vibrations came from her mind.  
Yugi covered his ears, trying to block out the pain. "Yami, make it stop!" he painfully cried.  
Amazingly, the vibrations didn't affect Yami. He just stood there like nothing happened.  
"How can this be possible? How can you resist me when the other X-men couldn't?" the mutant asked.  
"That I do not know," Yami responded. "But I do know that you won't kil my brother," he added as he absorbed the vibrations through his horn.  
Yugi felt the vibrations lose their intensity on him. He saw that they were still going strong. 'That's weird. I can't feel the vibrations anymore,' he thought.  
The female mutant also noticed that Yugi wasn't affected anymore. "Your brother was screaming murder a few moments ago, but now he can't feel anything either. How is this so?" she asked.  
"I can tell you that. Yami and Yugi have a Gemini effect on each other. Their strong love for each other makes them stronger," Jean said. "Show her what I mean Yugi."  
"You got it," Yugi said as he shot solar power through his mind at the unknown mutant.  
The mutant stopped her vibrations in time for Yami to send them back at her. She was injured a little, but gave more sonic waves. These wee at full intensity. Yami saw a solar field around him and Yugi. The vibrations burned up in the field. Yami put his hands on the solar field and shot out solar rays from it. The mutant fled in defeat, and the Danger Room deactivated for the time being. Yugi took off the solar force field. Yami walked out of the Danger Room and found Jean and Cyclops waiting. They were pretty impressed with the training session.  
"You two did very well in there. In the Danger Room, the images are as real as the actual people and/or mutants are. The female mutant's powers didn't affect you at all Yami, and I was very amazed. The other X-men and I were at her mercy when we were face to face with her in the Savage Lands," Cyclops said. "She was the hardest setting of the Savage Lands, and you took her easily."  
"And I sense that your powers are still burning strong within you. This is like nothing I've witnessed before. All it took for you to control your powers was the love you and Yami had for each other," Jean said.  
"I guess that brotherly love went further than we thought Yami," Yugi said.  
"It sure did little bro," Yami said.  
Jubilee came in the hallway with two glasses of water. "I thought you might be thisty so I brought you two some water," she said as she handed Yugi and Yami the water.  
"Thank you," Yugi and Yami said before drinking the water.  
"You're welcome," Jubilee said.  
Yugi and Yami handed the empty glasses back to her, and she went and put them in the sink.  
"Can we go out flying again Yami?" Yugi asked.  
"Tomorrow Yugi. I need to get some rest," Yami responded yawning.  
"You can rest in the front room Yami," Jean said.  
"Thanks Jean," Yami said before walking into the front room. He lay down over by a wall, and Yugi got off him.  
"You two were very amazing. I don't get impressed easily, so you were very good," Wolverine said.  
"We did the best we could," Yugi said. He sat down next to Yami, as Yami sat up. Yugi laughed a little because Yami was in an awkward position to him.  
"I don't blame you for laughing Yugi. The way that I'm sitting does look pretty funny. I sit like a horse, but my human half is straight up," Yami said.  
Yugi leaned his head on the unicorn half of Yami's body. They stayed that way until it was time for dinner. Yugi sat at the table while Yami just stood and ate. Centaurs may be half and half, but they still eat and drink the same stuff as other people do. After dinner, Yami went out the back door and into an unoccupied stable.  
"Why are you out here Yami?" Storm asked.  
"I would rather sleep outside," Yami responded.  
"You're more than welcome to sleep inside the Institute," Storm said.  
"I know," Yami said.  
"It's going to be a cool night. Are you sure that you'll be okay?" she said.  
"I'll be fine," Yami responded.  
Storm nodded and left the stable. Yugi had been looking for Yami. When he came outside, Storm pointed him to where Yami was. Yugi thanked her and went inside the stable. He found Yami lying down on a haystack.  
"Would you like some company?" Yugi asked.  
"Sure," Yami responded.  
Yugi lay down next to Yami. They just looked at the stars from an open window in the stable. Yami was still tired from the past two days and quickly fell asleep an hour later. Yugi fell asleep not too much longer afterwards. Beast came by with a couple of blankets. He saw Yugi and Yami and smiled.  
'I've never seen a stronger brotherly love than the two of them have. They really do just about everything together,' Beast thought as he put one blanket over Yami and the other one over Yugi. 'Sleep well you two,' he thought as he left the now occupied stable.  
Yami unconsciously pulled Yugi closer to him as he slept on through the night. At 9am the next morning, Yami woke up fully rested and refreshed. 'That was a great sleep. I don't feel tired anymore,' he thought. He felt a big cloth on him and turned to see a blanket on him. He took off the blanket and removed Yugi's blanket. "It's time to wake up," he said.  
Yugi awakened and sat up. He yawned and stretched. "Good morning Yami. Did you sleep well?" he said.  
"I slept very well," Yami responded. "Did you?" he added.  
"Yes I did," Yugi responded before climbing on Yami's back.  
Yami stood up and walked out. They found the others waiting for them.  
"Good morning," Jubilee said.  
"Good morning," Yami said.  
"Are you going to join us for breakfast?" Xavier asked.  
"No thank you Professor. I'm not hungry right now," Yami responded.  
"I'm really not hungry either," Yugi agreed.  
"We'll see you later," Yami said before spreading his wings and taking off into the air.  
"Have fun," Jean said. She looked at the Professor and grew concerned. "Something wrong Professor?" she asked.  
"Very wrong Jean. I sense that Magneto is nearby. I just hope that Yugi and Yami will be all right if he should cross their path," Xavier responded.  
"The only thing we can do is hope. Yami and Yugi have learned their powers a lot quicker than expected and shouldn't have much of a problem if it should come out to a battle," Cyclops said.  
Meanwhile, Magneto took a flight through the city. Even though he doesn't like the human race, that doesn't stop himfrom going on his daily flight. 'I wonder if Charles or any of his X-men are out today,' he thought.  
"So far, it's a peaceful day out here," a voice said, jarring him out of his thoughts.  
"Yes it is Yugi," a deeper voice said.  
"Who was that?" Magneto asked. He looked up ahead and was very amazed with what he saw. 'I've never seen a creature like that,' he thought.  
"We're heading into a fog bank Yugi," Yami said.  
"I'll take care of it Yami," Yugi said. He focused his solar energy and shot it through his hands. He cleared he fog with no problem at all.  
'He possesses the power of the sun. I better follow them,' Magneto thought as he followed Yami and Yugi. 'I wonder what the one called Yami is,' he thought.  
"Nicely done little bro," Yami said.  
"Thanks Yami. I love riding on your back now that you're a Centaur," Yugi said.  
"I love taking you for rides Yugi. All you have to do is ask. When you asked after our session in the Danger Room, I was really tired from that and from what happened the past two days. If I'm not tired, and we have free time, I'll be more than happy to take you riding," Yami said.  
'So, Yami is a Centaur. I never thought that I see one,' Magneto thought.  
Yami got a little tense. Yugi literally felt it because of Yami's horse half. The back muscles tightened up somewhat, and Yami hovered in the air.  
"What is it Yami?" Yugi asked.  
"Someone's following us. I sense magnetic energy coming from him so I know that he's a mutant," Yami responded. He turned around to see a mutant hovering in front him.  
The mutant wore red and purple clothing and a weird-looking red helmet.  
"Who are you?" Yugi asked.  
"My name is Magneto," the mutant responded.  
"What do you want?" Yami asked harshly.  
Yugi knew that when Yami talked to someone with that tone of voice, that person wasn't to be trusted.  
"Two mutants like you will be a great addition to my team to rule the human race. What do you say?" Magneto offered.  
"My answer is never in a million years," Yami responded.  
"Same with me. Yami and I were born from a human mother that we love to death. Not to mention that some of our most trustworthy friends are humans. We may be different as far as not being normal, but we still view ourselves as human," Yugi said.  
"So, you must be with Charles and his group," Magneto snarled.  
"Yes we are, but that has nothing to do with the way we feel," Yami said.  
"If you're not with me, you're against me," Magneto said.  
"We already gave you our answer. We refuse to join you," Yugi said a little impatiently.  
Magneto fired a magnetic blast at Yugi. Yugi countered with his own solar blast. Magneto then magnetized scrap metal from a nearby junkyard and sent it hurtling towards Yami and Yugi.  
"Leave this to me Yugi," Yami said as he created a sideways arch field.  
The field blocked the scrap metal from reaching them. Yugi then focused his power into the field to help create a solar arch field. The scrap metal burned on contact with the field.  
"Let me show you a lesson in magnetism," Yami said as he took down the field. He shot a reversed magnetic beam from his horn and sent Magneto through the air.  
The beam would wear off when he was 50 miles away. Yami and Yugi spent another two hours sailing through the sky in peace. Then Yami flew back for the Institute. Jean, Jubilee and the Professor were there to greet them.  
"Did you have a good time," Jean asked.  
"For the most part, yes we did. We had a run in with Magneto though," Yami responded.  
"He offered us to join him in ruling over humans. But Yami knew not to trust him before he even introduced himself to us. We instantly refused his offer. We may be considered mutants by most people, but inside we're just as human as they are," Yugi added.  
"That's exactly how we feel. We try our best to be normal like the regular people, only using our powers when absolutely necessary," Xavier said. "But a lot of people fear and seek to destroy us because of our enhanced abilities."  
"That wasn't the case with Yami. The people were more amazed than anything because he's a Centaur. The look on their faces was like they were learning all over again," Yugi said.  
"I agree with you Yugi. That was the first in a long time that I ever seen anyone amazed instead of afraid when they saw a mutant," Jubilee said.  
"You and Yugi could be the most important step in our quest for mutants and humans to be in harmony Yami," Jean said before going inside.  
Yami went back to the stable and laid down to rest. Yugi got off his back and went inside the Institute to get something to eat. A few moments later, he brought the food back to the stable, and he and Yami ate. Afterwards, Jubilee and Beast came in to give them some company. They just talked about what has happened so far and about their personal lives.  
  
  
  
  
End of chapter 3. Hope you're enjoying it so far. Preview for Chapter 4: Lost in the Real Savage Lands: Two months have passed since Yami and Yugi's arrival at the Institute. They have gotten along very well with all the inhabitants. One day, a band of rebellious mutants attack the Institute. It's a battle from within as the X-men fight to protect their home and each other. The battle is cut short when the scientists from the Savage Lands use a teleportation device to transport the X-men to the Savage Lands. The fight to stay alive really begins now.  
  
  
I would like to thank Crouching Tigress for her suggestion of Yugi being able to create a solar shield. This is something that all of you will read from here on out to the end. If there's something you want me to include, don't be afraid to tell me what it is. Just like Crouching Tigress, you can see your suggestion in my story.  
Bye  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Lost in the Real Savage Lands

Recap: Yami took Yugi and Jubilee riding while waiting for his and Yugi's appointment in the Danger Room. A group of sentinels spoiled their peace, but they made quick work of the sentinels. They enjoyed the rest of the flight in peace. At 1pm, Yugi and Yami trained together in the Danger Room. Yugi controlled his powers with a little brotherly love. The next day, Yugi and Yami ran into Magneto while on a flight. They defeated him for the moment and headed back to the Institute.  
/ is mental talk between Yami, Jean and Professor Xavier  
' is thoughts  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 4: Lost in the Real Savage Lands  
  
Yugi and Yami had got to know Beast and Jubilee a lot better than when they introduced themselves. Yugi, Yami and Jubilee found out that they had a lot in common. Jubilee had told them when she was the prime target of the sentinels, and Yami told her how his and Yugi's father died at the hand of a sentinel.  
"It seems that you three have a lot in common now as far as the sentinels go," Beast said.  
"We do, but we all have another thing in common. We take things one step at a time," Yugi said.  
Beast, Yami and Jubilee nodded at that. By mid afternoon, thick storm clouds started to roll in suggesting a big storm approaching.  
"We better all get inside the Institute. It will be safe than this stable. This is going to be a doozy of a storm," Beast said.  
The others nodded and headed for the Institute. The storm started quicker than all four of them expected by a lightning bolt crashing down right in front of Yugi. Yugi got blown back twenty feet. Another bolt came right down at him. Yami got in front of him and got struck instead, falling to the ground unconscious.  
"Yami!" Yugi cried.  
Then, a psychic shield came over them. Yami was lifted off the ground.  
"Hurry inside. I've got Yami so don't worry," Jean said.  
The others nodded and ran inside the Institute. The other X-men were very worried upon seeing Yami's unconscious state.  
"What happened?" Gambit asked.  
"The storm caught us just as we headed back here. Yugi would've been struck if Yami didn't get in front of him. He saved Yugi's life by taking the bolt himself," Jubilee responded.  
"I just hope he can heal himself like I can," Wolverine said.  
"I sense that he's doing just that Logan. The lightning made a direct strike so it's going to take time for him to completely heal himself. I can also sense that the lightning was at 1/2 its devastating activity so Yami got hit with a lot of electricity. He'll be out until it's time to sleep," Xavier said.  
"I'm just glad he's all right," Yugi said before lying down next to Yami.  
"I'll help you keep watch over Yami," Storm said.  
Yugi nodded, and Storm sat on the couch. As the hours went by, Yami's ragged breathing because steady and the electricity in his body lost more of its intensity. By about three hours after nightfall, Yami regained consciousness. He was completely healed and doing fine.  
"Are you all right big bro?" Yugi asked.  
"Yes Yugi. I'm fine," Yami responded. "I need to rest though. Healing myself can take a lot out of me depending on how intense I got wounded, and this was probably the most intense it gets," he added yawning.  
Storm got up and got a few blankets for Yugi, Yami and herself. She put one of the blankets on Yami, and he fell asleep right away.  
"Whoa, I've never seen him fall asleep that fast. Healing himself really must've taken a lot out of him," Yugi said.  
"He was struck by lightning Yugi. Lightning is the second highest weather killer," Storm said.  
"What's the first?" he asked.  
"Floods," she responded.  
About two hours later, Storm and Yugi put their blankets over them and fell asleep as well. The storm had passed out of the area as well. The only damage was done to the trees. Fortunately, none fell on the Institute. It was going to be a peaceful night.  
Meanwhile, a group of renegade mutants got together to plan an attack on the Institute. Among the mutants in the group were Mystique, Sabertooth, the Blob, Avalanche, Juggernaut and the half mutant half robotic Brainchild (A/N: If you haven't watched the X-men cartoon where the X-men, except Jubilee, and the renegade mutants were all grown up, then you don't know who Brainchild is. I remember seeing him almost get the best of the X-men the time they encountered him).  
"We need to find a way to get rid of the X-men permanently," Juggernaut said.  
"Why don't I just squish them?" Blob asked.  
"It's going to take more than that you brainless living Jell-O," Mystique responded.  
"Mystique is right," Sabertooth said.  
They schemed on how they could get rid of the X-men. Meanwhile in the Savage Lands, the scientists there were scheming the exact same thing. The last time, the X-men were almost destroyed. They set to work on a teleportation device. It would take two months to complete, but to them two months was a small amount of time to wait.  
As the days passed, Yugi, Yami and the other X-men got to know each other very well. Yugi and Yami got even closer in love and became the most powerful of all the X-men. They also got to see more of the city due to Jubilee and Jean taking time away from the Institute to show them around. Of course Yami provided the transportation. The people of the city were starting to gain a little more respect for certain mutants now too.  
They saw how much Yugi and Yami loved each other by their strong cooperation with each other. It was a small step forward as far as human and mutant harmony. Things would happen one step at a time. The days turned to weeks, and the weeks turned into months. It had been two months since Yami and Yugi arrived at the institute and became X-men, and the other X-men wanted to do something special for them.  
"It's been two months since Yugi and Yami became one of us. We need to do something really nice for them," Jubilee said. "It's a good thing that they're away on a flight right now so we can decorate and get ready."  
"I know. This is a time that I'm extremely glad they went flying. We'd be busted if they didn't," Rogue said.  
The other X-men made the Danger Room in to a fun room with games and activities. The food was ready. They all finished in an hour and waited for Yami and Yugi to return. Jubilee stood outside in wait. Yami and Yugi returned two hours later.  
"That was the most peaceful flight you've taken me on so far," Yugi said.  
"Yes it was," Yami agreed.  
"Hey you two. Come on in," Jubilee said.  
Yugi hopped off Yami's back, and they went inside. The lights were off, so they couldn't see anything.  
"Where is everyone?" Yugi asked.  
The lights came on, revealing the nicely decorated room.  
"Wha-what?" Yugi asked.  
"Surprise!" the other X-men shouted.  
"What's all this for?" Yami asked.  
"We just wanted to do something special for you and Yugi for being with us for two months," Storm responded.  
"This is a day of fun so enjoy it," Cyclops said.  
Yugi nodded happily and ran into the current fun room. Yami was close behind. The first thing they noticed was a billiard table. There was a stepping block for Yugi to stand on if he wanted to play. Yugi grabbed a stick and stood on the block. Yami, Gambit and Wolverine soon joined them.  
"We'll play teams. It will be Wolverine and I vs. you and Yami," Gambit said.  
"We'll do our best. We never played billiards before," Yugi said.  
"We'll let you go first," Wolverine said.  
Yami nodded and took the first shot. A striped ball went into the side pocket on the left.  
"By hitting the striped ball into the pocket, that means that you will be aiming at the striped balls while Wolverine and I aim at the solid color ones. When you've hit all your balls in the pockets, then you go for the 8 ball. Be careful not to bounce it off the table and onto the floor though because that is an automatic lose."  
The game went on for a while. Wolverine and Gambit didn't want to just end the game quickly. They were experienced at billiards and could've heen through in ten minutes tops, but they wanted to be easy on Yami and Yugi because they were having some difficulty. After a while though, Yami and Yugi got the hang of it and did very well. That's when Gambit and Wolverine gave it their all. It was close, but Gambit and Wolverine squeaked by with the victory.  
"That was a great game you two. You almost won. Not bad for your first time," Gambit said.  
Suddenly, they felt an earthquake. They and the others rushed outside the Institute. They found a group of mutants ready to take them on.  
"Sabertooth," Wolverine said harshly.  
"Mystique," Rogue said just as harsly.  
The renegade mutants were confused when they saw Yugi and Yami, especially Yami.  
"Who are those two?" Mystique asked.  
"This is Yami and his younger brother Yugi, the two newest members of the X-men," Beast responded.  
"Well, that won't matter for long. Once we get through with you, there won't be X-men anymore," Juggernaut said before charging at Yugi.  
Yugi fired solar beams at Juggernaut. They had little effect.  
"Is that all you got little boy?" Juggernaut asked mockingly.  
"No one calls my brother little boy and gets away with it," Yami said. He used his psychic abilities to lift Juggernaut up and forcefully bring him down.  
The hard impact had more effect on him. Not only that, but it also got his helmet a little loose.  
"Why you little freak!" Juggernaut said angrily and charged at Yami.  
Yami simply spread his wings and jumped into the air. While in the air, he kicked Juggernaut in he back with his hind legs. Juggernaut went crashing into a tree. The impact knocked the tree down and flung his helmet off. Professor X then mentally stunned him. The battle raged on with neither side gaining a big upper hand over the other. The X-men were both offensive and defensive. They were offensive by fighting back and devensive by protecting each other.  
Suddenly, the X-men got teleported away. They reappeared in the one place that was their worst nightmare, the Savage Lands. The last encounter was still fresh in their memory.  
"We'd best stay together here. This place hides many dangers," Xavier said.  
The others nodded, and they went through the jungle. A few hours later, they set camp for the night. Yugi used his powers to create a fire so the others could cook the food they brought back. There were edible fruits and fish in a nearby lake to pick/catch and eat. Half an hour after eating, Storm created a little rain cloud to put the fire out, and everyone prepared to sleep. Yugi put a solar force field over everyone to both him/her warm in the cool night, and prevent a possible sneak attack during the night. He then fell asleep himself.  
It was a good thing that he put up the force field too. For only an hour afterwards, the natives attempted to capture them. The solar force field couldn't be broken though, and the natives went away. It was peaceful for the X-men the rest of the night. The next morning, they awakened, and Yugi took off the field.  
"Thanks Yugi. Your shield kept us warm all night," Cyclops said.  
"It also prevented a capture," Jean said.  
"I felt them too," Yami said.  
"As did I. The natives tried to capture us last night but couldn't because of the force field," Xavier said.  
Suddenly, they felt sonic vibrations. It seemed like it came from every direction to them. A familiar female voice commanded them to sleep. All the X-men except Yami were being affected by it. They held their heads in pain trying to resist but to no avail.  
"Yugi, resist her. I know you can," Yami said.  
"I'm trying to Yami," Yugi said.  
"Clear your mind of all other thoughts and focus on resisting her," Yami said.  
Yugi complied, and he no longer felt the vibrations upon him. The other X-men weren't so lucky because they all fell asleep. Then the strange woman came to see all but two X-men asleep.  
"How come you're not asleep like the others?" she asked.  
"That I still do not understand. You're powers will not affect us anymore," Yami responded.  
"We'll see about that," she said as she made the vibrations a little stronger.  
Yami and Yugi looked at her as if saying, "Is that all you got?"  
"Take the other X-men," she said as the natives and a big fat green thing that was half robotic came out.  
"Who are you?" Yugi asked the green thing.  
"I am Brainchild, and I will be taking your friends now," the green thing responded.  
Yugi and Yami saw that they were greatly outnumbered.  
"Yami, the only way to rescue them is not to be captured ourselves," Yugi said.  
"I'm afraid you're right little bro. Get on," Yami said as Yugi got on. He stood up, spread his wings and took off into the sky. He didn't want to do it, but he didn't want himself and Yugi to be captured either. He hoped to keep mental contact with Xavier and/or Jean.  
About fifteen minutes later, the natives brought the captured X-men to the laboratory.  
"How did it go?" James, the head scientist of the Savage Lands asked.  
"We captured all but two of the X-men. For some reason, those two were able to resist me," the woman responded.  
"That is interesting news indeed. They will come soon enough though. They'll surely try to rescue their comrades," James said.  
Meanwhile, Yami landed deep in the Savage Lands. He told Yugi to stay on him and walked on. It didn't take too long to realize that they were completely lost. Yami walked on anyway. About an hour later, the X-men woke up from their force sleep. They found themselves in a cell. They couldn't feel their powers and saw collars on their necks.  
"I see that you found out that the collars on your neck drain your powers," James siad.  
"What do you want with us?" Wolverine asked harshly.  
"Either join me in taking over the world, or spend the rest of your lives as ordinary people," James responded.  
"We would never join you," Cyclops said.  
"Then, those collars will make you as ordinary as any normal human forever," James said.  
"No they won't," Rogue said as she tried to take hers off. She got an electrical shock as a result.  
"I advise that you don't try that again," James said before leaving the laboratory. He made sure to take the remote that could remove the collars so no one could free them.  
"What are we going to do now?" Jubilee asked.  
"Yugi and Yami must've gotten away. They're our only hope now," Gambit responded.  
"But they don't know where we are," Storm said.  
"They will very soon," Jean said.  
"How?" Beast asked.  
"Jean and I can still communicate mentally. Yami's also psychic so we can mentally tell him where we are and guide him here," Xavier responded. /Yami, can you hear me?/ he asked.  
Yami and Yugi were still lost. They had no idea where to turn.  
"We would've been better off still in the air," Yugi said.  
"I know..." Yami started to say when he heard Xavier in his mind.  
/Yami, can you hear me?/  
/Yes Professor, I hear you/ Yami responded.  
"Yami, what is it?" Yugi asked.  
"Shh, the Professor is mentally talking to me," Yami responded. /Where are you?/  
/The other X-men and I are in a laboratory on the east part of the Savage Lands. We have collars on our necks that drained us of our powers. But Jean and I can still talk mentally/ Xavier responded.  
/We'll guide you here/ Jean said.  
/Okay/ Yami said. "I need you to stay quiet for a while Yugi. Jean and the Professor are going to mentally give me directions to the laboratory that they and the others are being kept," he added.  
"All right Yami," Yugi said.  
/Okay guys, I'm ready/ Yami said as he took off into the air. He followed the directions to the hilt and arrived at the laboratory an hour later.  
"Let's get them out of there," Yugi said.  
Yami nodded and went inside. They found the others in a cell.  
"I'll have you free in a second," Yugi said before melting the bars with his solar powers.  
The others came out of the melted down cell.  
"Thank you Yugi. I felt like a prisoner in there," Jubilee said as the others nodded.  
Yugi moved to take her collar off. He got shocked in doing so. "What is this thing?" he asked.  
"The head scientist put these things on us. As you found out, trying to remove them only results in getting shocked," Jubilee responded. "He took the only thing that could get these collars off us," she added.  
"We have to find him then," Yami said.  
"No need to. I saw you on my way back here," James said from behind.  
Yami turned around and saw him. "Who are you?" he asked.  
"I am James, head scientist of the Savage Lands," James responded. "It's time for your powers to be drained as well, starting with the young one," he added as he threw a collar at Yugi's neck.  
"Not you don't,' Yami said as he destroyed it with an energy beam from his horn. He soon felt a collar connect to him from behind.  
"Looks like you weren't fast enough," James said smirking. He then saw that the collar didn't light up. "How can you still have your powers?" he asked.  
"Very simple. I'm apparently more powerful than this collar of yours is. I felt it short circuit as soon as it locked onto me," Yami responded as he tore the collar off. "Now, let's get out of here," he said to the X-men.  
The X-men nodded, and they ran out the lab wth Yami in front. Suddenly, the other X-men felt a big electrical shock. They fell to their knees in pain.  
"What happened?" Yugi asked.  
"I happened. They can't get away from the collars," James responded with the remote in hand.  
/Yami, you have to get that remote control away from him/ Jean said.  
/I'll figure out a way Jean. Don't worry/ Yami said.  
Then Brainchild stepped next to James. "What do you want me to do master?" he asked.  
"Take care of those two mutants so I can continue with my plans," James responded before leaving.  
"As you wish master," Brainchild said before firing an energy wave at Yami and Yugi.  
"How are we going to stop that?" Yugi asked.  
"By focusing our powers in the center of it," Yami responded. "Use your solar rays, and I'll combine my fire and laser energy into them."  
Yugi fired solar rays at the center of the wave. Yami combined his energies into the rays, easily destroying the wave.  
"Yugi, I'll deal with Brainchild. You try to get that remote and free the others," Yami said.  
"Okay," Yugi said and jumped off Yami's back. He headed in the direction James went it. He found James and the other X-men half an hour later.  
James tortured the X-men by giving them electrical shocks with the collars. Yugi knew he had to find a way to make James leave the remote behind long enough for him to free the others. The bush behind James gave Yugi an idea. Yugi used his solar rays and set the bush on fire. James panicked when he saw the fire. He dropped the remote and went to get some water to put out the fire.  
'All right, it worked,' Yugi thought. He came from behind the tree and took the remote. "How do I release you now?" he asked.  
"There's a button that says release collars," Jubilee responded.  
Yugi saw the button and pressed it. The collars fell from around the X-men, and their powers were restored. Then Yugi destroyed the remote and the collars.  
"Excellent work Yugi," Storm said before putting the bush fire out. "Where's Yami?" she asked.  
"He's fighting Brainchild," Yugi responded.  
"Let us hurry then," Cyclops said.  
Yugi led the way back to the fight, and they arrived in half an hour. They saw that Yami did very well against Brainchild. Brainchild's robotic half was starting to fail because of extensive damage. He soon just fell down paralyzed form that damage. Yami looked back and saw Yugi with the now free X-men.  
"Good work Yugi. You did it," Yami said.  
"And you did good work with Brainchild as well," Yugi said.  
"You might've released the X-men and defeated Brainchild, but you still aren't getting out of here," James said with the teleportation device in hand.  
"That's what you think," Yami said as he telepathically made the device teleport himself and the other X-men back to the Institute. He then sent a destruct command, and the device disintegrated to dust.  
The renegade mutants were no longer at the Institute suggesting that they didn't want to wait to continue the fight, which was very good news.  
"You did very well Yugi and Yami. We couldn't have made it out alive without you," Xavier said.  
"We were only helping out friends in need," Yugi said.  
"I think we can all use some rest," Yami said as he made the decorations disappear and reverted the Danger Room back to normal.  
"That we can," Wolverine agreed as he and the others went to their respective rooms.  
Yugi just lay next to Yami. Everyone rested for the remainder of the day and slept at nightfall. They were all very tired and could use a good night's rest, especially after what happened today.   
  
  
  
  
Another chapter out of the way. Preview for Chapter 5: Sentinel Infiltration: The X-men are enjoying a peaceful stroll through the city. The people give them friendly greetings as they just stroll. While strolling through the city, the sentinels attack. This time, they successfully capture Yugi and take him back to their base.  
  
  
To BlueFox: You were VERY rude with your review, and that's why I had it removed. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a rude person and I will not tolerate it from you or anyone. And X-men:Evolution is not the cartoon I'm talking about. I doubt you've seen the X-men cartoon from 1995 because that's the one. Seeing Jubilee's name should've given you some clue that I don't mean X-men: Evolution. 


	5. Sentinel Infiltration

Recap: The X-men had decided to do something special for Yugi and Yami for being one of them for two months. Meanwhile, a group of rogue mutants had plans of its own and crashed their party with a small earthquake aimed directly under the Institute. The reason behind the aimed earthquake was found out to be Avalanche. It was a battle until the X-men were sent to the Savage Lands. In only one day, the X-men except for Yugi and Yami were captured and had collars that drained them of their powers put on their necks. Trying to remove the collar resulted in a literal big shock. Yugi and Yami's quick thinking saved the other X-men from what could've been their deaths.  
/ is mental talk between Yami, Jean or Professor Xavier  
' is thoughts  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 5: Sentinel Infiltration  
  
The X-men spent a peaceful night at the Institute after almost being killed in the Savage Lands. It would've most likely been a tragic day if it weren't for Yami and Yugi's quick thinking. This night brought the rest and sleep they all needed. The next morning, they awakened refreshed and renewed of their energy. The other X-men met up with Yami and Yugi in the living room.  
"How was your sleep?" Yami asked.  
"It was the best sleep we had so far. Our energy is restored," Cyclops responded.  
They all gathered around the table to have a much needed meal. Half an hour afterwards, they all headed to the Danger Room. Professor X was in the control room.  
"What's in store for us today?" Jean asked.  
"Today, you're going to do the sentinel factory. You have to make it to the core and destroy the main unit. Be swift though. You only have thirty minutes to do so," Xavier responded before activating the Danger Room.  
The other X-men soon saw that they had a bunch of sentinels to go through in order to reach the core. There were 12 of them in all. The Professor told them that there were two more that they didn't see that were guarding the central unit.  
"Let's get started," Cyclops said.   
The others nodded, and the sentinels attacked. Yugi ran in between one of the sentinel's legs and shot it in the back with his solar rays. That sentinel fell down, bringing three more with it like a stack of giant dominoes.  
"Nice work Yugi," Yami said before turning into pure energy and flying straight through two more, destroying them.  
"You aren't doing so bad yourself," Yugi said.  
Wolverine climbed up one with his claws before slashing at it vigorously. He sliced its head off a few minutes later and jumped off as it came down while bringing another one down with it. Jubilee and Gambit teamed up to take down four more. They took down two of those sentinels with a little distraction strategy. One diverted attention while the other destroyed, and the remaining two sentinels, they took head on.  
Beast climbed the wall and went across the ceiling. He came on a sentinel's shoulders and pounded on its head. A few minutes later, it just fell down not functioning anymore because its head was so smashed. Cyclops easily took out one by shooting a laser beam at its head. Jean psychically messed with another one's wiring and short-circuited it. Then they proceeded to the central unit where the remaining two sentinels were.  
Storm easily took out one by creating a thundercloud over its head to shoot lightning at it. The sentinel fell down from the strike, but not before Yami kicked its head off with his hind legs. Then Rogue, Yugi and Yami teamed up to take the last one out. They reached the central core only to dodge its balls of electricity combined with raw energy. The core apparently had its own defense.  
"We've got to take this out quickly," Storm said.  
"A shot of combined laser and solar energy should do it," Cyclops said.  
"One problem though. We have to do it without getting hit by the destructive balls it throws at us," Yami said.  
"That's not a problem Yami. You and I can create force fields. We could easily do it," Yugi reminded him.  
"You're right Yugi. I just don't think sometimes," Yami said. He picked up Yugi and motioned for Cyclops to get on his back.  
Cyclops complied, and Yami galloped off. He spread his wings and jumped into the air. The core fired more electric charged raw energy balls at them, but Yugi's solar force field protected them. Yami flew in close to the core. That way, they had a clear shot.  
"Let's fire now," Cyclops said.  
Yugi and Yami combined their energy and fired a combination of laser and solar energy from the force field. Cyclops joined in with a laser beam of his own. The core couldn't handle the energies of the three combined attacks and overloaded. Afterwards, the Danger Room deactivated, signaling that time was up.  
"Nice work all of you. You did it just in time," Xavier said.  
"Yugi, Yami and Wolverine gave us the quick start we needed. You three did great work," Jean said.  
"This was the most interesting session I did in here so far," Yami said as Yugi and Wolverine agreed.  
"Take a break now," Xavier said before leaving the control room.  
The others left the Danger Room and went to their respective rooms for a rest. Yami and Yugi went inside the stable to rest.  
"You don't always have to be in the stable with me Yugi," Yami said.  
"I know that Yami, but I want to be with you. I always loved being next to you whenever I could," Yugi said.  
"As do I. I love being next to you too. If only other brothers can be as close to each other as we are," Yami said. "We have our disagreements sometimes, but we always end up sorting them out."  
"Yes we do. Other boys that are brothers have always gotten into fights over something small like whose turn it is to watch television or what video and/or movie to watch. Our disagreements deal with bigger issues like who we should trust," Yugi said. "I've learned from past experiences to always trust you when it comes to that. I never understood how you can tell the trustworthy from the untrustworthy."  
"To be honest, I never understood that myself. It was like I just knew," Yami said.  
Then they spent time in silence. At 1pm, Jubilee and Rogue came in with some lunch for them before going back in to get their own and coming back in the stable to join them. They ate in silence and waited an hour before going for a flight. Rogue carried Jubilee, and Yugi was on Yami's back.  
They only got to enjor an hour of calm weather before the sky turned dark and gray. The clouds signaled the approach of a typical summertime thunderstorm. It was time to return to the Institute.  
"Let's head back before the storm hits," Yugi said.  
"Easier done than said Yugi," Yami said. He teleported himself and them back to the Institute (A/N: I hope that the little explanation after the quote helped you understand that I didn't mean it the other way).  
No sooner had Yami done that that a lightning bolt flashed. The thunder boomed five seconds afterwards, and it started to rain. Most thunderstorms in the eastern U.S. can be quite the rainmakers, leaving at least a 1/2" of rainfall. However, they're mostly in and out in half an hour to an hours time. It was the case here. This thunderstorm was quick, and left 1 1/2" of rain.  
Meanwhile at the sentinel factory, the scientists were scheming on how to capture Yugi. His powers amazed them, and they wanted to experiment on him before letting the sentinels deal with him. They never thought that there could be a mutant with solar powers until seeing Yugi destroy some of the sentinels with his power.  
"We need to get that solar-powered kid," Greg said.  
"That's not going to be easy since his Centaur brother is always around him," Julie said.  
"It will if we put them and the other X-men to sleep before grabbing the kid," Greg said.  
The other scientists nodded and they sent a sentinel to the Institute to capture Yugi. It arrived in an hour and made quick work of the defenses around the Institute. The X-men were all in the living room just sitting in silence when a grenade came through the open window. It exploded, and sleeping gas filled the room. No one could react in time, and they all fell asleep. The sentinel grabbed Yugi using a thick cable from its finger and returned to base an hour later.  
"What happened?" Jubilee asked as the sleeping gas wore off.  
"I don't know but..." Yami cut off his sentence when he immediately noticed Yugi missing.  
"But what?" Beast asked.  
"Yugi's gone. He was right next to me," Yami responded.  
Wolverine smelled the area. "One of the sentinels was here. I can still smell the exhaust from its rocket feet. It must've thrown the sleeping gas grenade and took Yugi while we were still sleep," he said.  
"We have to act quickly," Jean said.  
"We can't act quickly this time Jean. We'll probably walk right into a trap without a plan," Yami said.  
"Yami's right Jean. If we don't come up with a plan, our foes will easily overpower us," Xavier said. "We'll go to the outskirts of the factory but won't strike until we know what they intend to do and how to stop them."  
"I can become undetectable to man animal or machine. I can become invisible as well, but that won't be necessary when I make myself undetectable to their radars because that will be like being invisible. I can easily get inside and find out what they want. Then I can relay the information to you," Yami offered.  
"That's an excellent start Yami. We'll just have to figure out how to get Yugi out of there now," Cyclops said.  
With that in mind, they all boarded the Blackbird and headed for the factory. They arrived in an hour and landed a good 100 feet away from the outside sensors and cameras. Yami wasted no time and teleported inside the factory. Like he told the other X-men, he could become undetectable to anything. The cameras, computers or online sentinels couldn't detect him. Some of the sentinels walked right past him and kept walking. He made sure that only Yugi could see him.  
/I'm in the room where Yugi is/ Yami said.  
/Is he all right?/ Jean asked.  
/He's fine for now/ Yami responded.  
Just then, the scientists came into the room. Greg opened the door to Yugi's cell. Yami noticed the electric shackles on Yugi's wrists and the blue head ring on Yugi's head. He could feel that Yugi was pretty weak, which was probably from getting shocked from trying to break his bonds.  
"Now to do a few experiments on you before we let the sentinels finish you," Greg said as he and a few other scientists brought Yugi to and put him in a large experiment room. "We want to test you out on a couple of things and will turn off the shackles and head ring's power. If you try to escape, we'll activate them again. As you have already found out, trying to break them while they're on just makes them stronger which increases the intensity of the shock you receive. The first test is how much heat you can generate."  
'I'll go along with it, but won't give my full power,' Yugi thought.  
He felt his powers return and fired at a heat measuring scale.  
The scientists watched the readings from a nearby control room. They were amazed by the amount of heat Yugi could generate. They knew just by this experiment that they needed to get rid of him. The scale blew up a few minutes later, but not before making a last reading. The reading was the heat of the sun itself, but they didn't know that Yugi could generate far greater heat.  
'Excellent work Yugi, they don't even know that you can generate far more heat than they could ever dream of. The training in the Danger Room really helped you to control your great heat,' Yami thought.  
"You amazed us with how much heat you could hold. Now let's see if you can use your powers on the plants you see before you. These plants have been watered and got air, but they're missing sunlight. This experiment will test you on if you can make plants grow," Greg said.  
Yugi lifted his hands above his head and created a medium-sized ball of light. Ten minutes later, all thirty-five plants grew out of the ground. Yugi recalled the light ball and put his hands back down. Then he felt the electricity of the shackles and ring again as he came out of the experiment room. It was then that he saw Yami. Yami put his finger to his lips, and Yugi nodded in understanding.  
"Now that we know some of what you can do, we'll stop you from using your abilities against us once and for all," Greg said before putting Yugi back in the cell.  
/How are you faring up?/ Yami asked Jean.  
/We're almost ready to strike. How's Yugi?/ Jean said.  
/He won't be fine too much longer. The scientists plan on having the sentinels kill him. The worse news is that he has shackles and a head ring on him that prevents him from using his powers. He won't stand a chance if he faces the sentinels without his powers/ Yami responded.  
/We're ready to strike now. Storm and Rogue are over the base and the others and I are positioned around it but not in range of the sensors or cameras. We'll strike now/ Xavier said. "Storm, Jean, take the sensors and cameras out. Cyclops, Rogue, Wolverine, deal with the guards."  
Storm and Jean made quick work of the sensors and cameras, and Cyclops, Rogue and Wolverine knocked each of the guards' unconscious in just one hit. Then they and the others stormed the factory. The inner defenses weren't turned back on giving them somewhat of a break. Like the time when they rescued Jubilee, there were guards behind the door of the second to last room, and Storm blew it and the guards down once again.   
"We've got to save Yugi," Jubilee said.  
"We will," Gambit said.  
They soon came to where Yami said he would be, and Yami became detectable to all again.  
"Nice entrance," Yami said.  
"But you won't make an exit," they heard a voice say.  
"Who are you?" Yami asked turning around to see a man.  
"I am Greg, head scientist of this factory," the man responded.  
Yami went to the cell and absorbed the electricity from the bars. A few minutes later, he fired a disintegrating ray from his horn. Yugi proceeded to come out. A big charge from his shackles stopped him cold in his tracks.  
"I've programmed those shackles to keep him from leaving the cell unless I want him to," Greg said.  
"They won't bind him any longer," Yami said as he ripped the shackles from his brother's wrists. He then tore off the head ring. "Are you okay?" he asked.  
"I am now. That feels so much better," Yugi responded. "Now let's literally blow this place," he added.  
"I agree with you there," Wolverine said as the other X-men nodded.  
The scientists released the sentinels, and the battle was on. The scientists left the factory in case the X-men did succeed in blowing it up. The sentinels wer programmed to prevent the factory from being blown up. Yugi started off the attack by melting two of the sentinels to scrap metal. Yami became pure energy again and flew inside another sentinel's inner power source. He unleashed his energy and destroyed it from the inside. Some of the energy went through two more as well. The others battled valiantly, but more sentinels just kept coming at them.  
"We'll never defeat them at this rate," Yugi said.  
"There must be a computer or something that powers them. If we could destroy that, the sentinels will no longer function," Jean said.  
"We're up Yugi," Yami said before transporting Yugi to his back. He galloped off to find the main control room.  
They found it on the last room on the east side of the factory. Inside, they found the central control unil as well as the core of the operations. Like the training session in the Danger Room, the core had an electric charged energy ball-throwing defense. Yami put a force field around himself and Yugi to protect them from the core's defenses.  
"Let's destroy the computer first," Yami said.  
Yugi nodded, and they combined solar and fire power at the computer. The computer was destroyed in a few minutes. Then they aimed and fired at the core. The core unil blew up, and the room turned red.  
"Time to take our leave. This place is going to blow," Yugi said.  
Yami galloped on at full throttle to make it out in time. Meanwhile, Jean had created a protective dome to prevent the building from caving in on her and the others as they made their way out. They came out ten minutes later and hoped that Yugi and Yami could make it out in time. Meanwhile, Yami navigated through the crumbling building fine until one of the large computers fell down, blocking the path. If that wasn't bad enough, a fire had already started inside the building and roared closer to them.  
"Hang on Yugi. It's time to leave the ground behind," Yami said. He spread his wings and flew into the air. He disintegrated a large hole in the ceiling and flew out just as the building exploded.  
The other X-men watched in horror at the now crumbled and flaming building. Storm summoned rain clouds and put out the fire. The smoke soon cleared, but there was no sign of Yami or Yugi anywhere. The others came to the ruins of the factory and started to dig through the rubble. A few minutes later, a large part of rubble came flying out a few feet to the left of Jubilee. The others moved away as Yami continued to kick his way out. A few minutes later, he and Yugi came out.  
"Thank goodness you two are all right," Rogue said very relieved.  
They saw that Yami's legs were bruised, but he somehow managed to remain standing, despite the excruciating pain.  
"What happened?" Gambit asked.  
"Yami almost cleared the factory's roof when the building exploded. The explosion knocked him back down, and I fell off him. The hard landing injured his legs, but he managed to stand over me and put up a force field. Then he started kicking a path out through the field," Yugi responded.  
Yami then teleported them all back to the Institute and repaired the damage down to the outside defenses. Everyone had a quick dinner before retiring to his/her respective room. An hour later, Yami, Yugi and Beast were asleep in the stable. Since Yami was asleep, he could heal himself without becoming tired this time.  
  
  
  
  
End of this chapter. Well I'm back at my university now which means it's back to updating whenever I can for me. Preview for Chapter 6: Apocalypse Returns: The X-men have handled the main rogue mutants that roam around. Some of their former members come to visit them as a good surprise. However, the good times are brought to an end as a rival enters the scene. The worse news is that Apocalypse is back and up to no good again.   
P.S. I know that X-men: Evolution has showed Apocalypse, but don't assume that I'll have that one in this chapter. Early warning: You won't get this chapter unless you have watched the X-men cartoon from 1995 and/or played X-men 2: Clone Wars for the Sega Genesis. I don't want to see any criticizing reviews because I warned you early. In other words, expect a most likely big difference between the two Apocalypses.  
  
Stories that I will post the next chapters to:  
1. Someone's Always Out to get Me  
2. Teaming Up with the Superfriends  
3. Not Really A Demon  
4. A New World  
5. (Possibly) The first chapter of my sequel to Living with a Vampire  
6. A Mutant Family  
7. The Eyewitness  
The order of some of these stories are subject to change, but I will definitely update Someone's Always Out to get Me first because I've left that one hanging for too long.  
  
I'm already thinking of a sequel to Teaming Up with the Superfriends. Your votes will decide what gets crossovered with YGO. Out of these three former Kids' WB cartoons, which one would you like to see in a crossover?  
a. Superman  
b. Batman (not Batman Beyond)  
c. The Batman/Superman Adventures  



	6. Apocalypse Returns

Recap: The X-men had gone through a training session of the sentinel factory in the Danger Room. The training session was successful. They eventually had to do it for real because Yugi was kidnapped during a sentinel raid on the Institute. Yami took responsibility as leader in the rescue mission. He got injured while trying to escape, but he got Yugi out safely.  
/ is mental talk between Yami, Jean or Professor X  
' is thoughts  
  
Chapter 6: Apocalypse Returns  
  
Yugi had been rescued from the sentinel factory thanks to Yami's leadership in the rescue. Yami got injured while trying to escape the blast from the crumbling building. The X-men enjoyed a good sleep, but not more than Yami. The sleep completely revitalized him as he completely healed himself. Everyone is currently enjoying a day of fun and relaxation. It is a warm partly cloudy day.  
"There's no better way to relax than a flight through the city," Yugi said.  
"I agree there," Yami agreed. He flew slowly but not too slowly through the air. Then he began to fly higher.  
"Why are you going so high bro?" Yugi asked.  
"I want to both see and show you something," Yami responded as he flew still higher.  
Half an hour later, they were above the clouds. Yugi and Yami both took the scene before them in complete awe.  
"This is amazing," Yugi said still in awe.  
"It certainly is. I never thought that it could be this beautiful up here," Yami agreed. He flew on above the clouds. He saw Storm come up on his left.  
"I never get tired of coming up here. It's just gorgeous," Storm said.  
"Yes it is," Yugi and Yami said together.  
They flew on above the clouds. A few moments later, Yami got an idea and flew through the clouds. Yugi felt how soft and almost transparent they were. Yami gathered some of a cloud in his hands and turned it into a brilliant white dove. Yugi and Storm were very amazed.  
"Whoa Yami, how did you do that?" Yugi asked in awe.  
"It's magic little bro. A good magician never reveals his tricks," Yami responded as the dove flew away.  
Yugi focused his powers around himself and was like a glowing beacon. He concentrated the light from his solar energy into the clouds below them and turned them a golden color for a few minutes before he let the light dim away. Then Yami and Storm flew below the clouds and at the height of the skyscrapers.  
"That was a nice display of power control Yugi," Storm said.  
"Thank you," Yugi said smiling. He suddenly felt a major power drain. He started swaying on Yami's back.  
"Yugi, what's wrong?" Yami asked worriedly.  
"I don't know. I never felt so weak," Yugi said before loosing consciousness and falling off Yami's back.  
"Yugi!" Yami cried as he dove after Yugi. He caught Yugi in his arms and flew back up. When he looked at the sun, he saw why Yugi felt so weak.  
The moon blocked out the sun's light. Yugi's powers came from sunlight, but also any kind of light. Because the sun was the only source of light outside, he was drained of his energy when the moon blocked the sun out. But Yami sensed something was wrong with the moon. It had a blue aura around it, like something was responsible for moving it. He knew that it would be another 2 years at least before the next solar eclipse.  
"Is he all right?" Storm asked concerned.  
"He should be when the eclipse is over. But there's something very out of place about the moon. There wasn't supposed to be a solar eclipse today," Yami responded.  
"You're right. The next one isn't for at least another 2 years. Someone sinister apparently heard about Yugi's solar powers and probably used the eclipse as a test. We'll have to really keep our eyes open now," Storm said.  
Yami nodded, and they flew back for the Institute. They were so in a rush that they never noticed a smirking figure standing on the roof of a skyscraper only twenty feet away. This figure was the cause of the eclipse. His name was Seto Kaiba, but he preferred to go by Eclipse. He really didn't need the moon itself to create an eclipse. He could create eclipses with his own power.  
The scientists in the sentinel factory worked for a greater evil known as Apocalypse, and they told him about Yugi's powers. Apocalypse was quite pleased with that bit of information and sent Eclipse to test his powers out on Yugi. Eclipse teleported back to Apocalypse's base and told him the news.  
"Ah, so it was a success. Well done Eclipse," Apocalypse said.  
"Thank you master. What about Yami?" Eclipse said.  
"We'll deal with him when the time comes. You can take away the eclipse now. The test was a success," Apocalypse said.  
Eclipse did as he was told, and the sun's light shone through again. Yugi got stronger as the light shone on him. He soon regained consciousness.  
"Are you all right Yugi?" Storm asked.  
"I am now but what happened?" Yugi responded.  
"There was an unnatural solar eclipse. Someone caused it but we don't have any idea who it was," Yami responded.  
They arrived back at the Institute to be greeted by worried faces.  
"The Professor and I sensed something very wrong with that eclipse," Jean said.  
"I did too. I know that someone caused it because there was no eclipse scheduled for today," Yami added before putting Yugi down. "That's only the least of our worries because it drained Yugi of his energy."  
"That's grim news indeed. I sense something sinister about this. Something that we'll find out soon," Professor X said.  
"But who would want to drain Yugi of his energy and power?" Jubilee asked.  
"That's a question that none of us knows the answer to yet," Wolverine responded.  
"As Storm and I headed back for here, I sensed a sinister presence nearby. I was so anxious to get here that I didn't check it out. The presence seemed very familiar to me, like I know it," Yami said.  
"You most likely probably do," Cyclops said.  
"You said that there was something out of place with the moon. What was it?" Storm said.  
"I saw a strange blue aura around it," Yami responded. "Like someone moved it."  
There was a knock at the door. Jubilee and Wolverine went to answer it and got a wonderful surprise.  
"Morph, Kurt, Drake, how good it is to see you," Jubilee said happily.  
"We were in the area so we decided to stop by," Kurt said.  
"How is everyone?" Morph asked.  
"I'm afraid that we have a grim situation my friend," Wolverine responded.  
"What kind of situation?" Drake asked.  
"Come inside, and we'll explain everything," Jubilee responded.  
Kurt, Morph and Drake nodded and went inside the building. The other X-men were in the living room and were happy to see their old friends again. Yami and Yugi just looked on in confusion. Kurt, Morph and Drake shared the look at Yami and Yugi. Even though Yami and Yugi had no idea who the three new people were, Yami knew that they were trustworthy.  
"I never saw you before. May we know your names and what you are?" Morph asked Yami.  
"Of course. My name is Yami Yin, and I'm a Centaur. I have multiple powers and abilities. This is my younger brother Yugi. He has the power of the sun," Yami responded. "And who might you three be?" he added.  
"My name is Kurt, but I'm known as Nightcrawler. I can teleport just about wherever I choose. The one on my right is Drake, better known as Iceman(A/N: My memory of this cartoon is a little rusty. If this is wrong, will someone kindly correct me?). He can create things using ice. The one on my left is Morph. He's a shape shifter," Nightcrawler responded.  
"Kurt, Morph and Drake once lived here when they were teenagers," Xavier said.  
"I never thought that I would meet a mutant with solar powers. That's got to come in real handy," Drake said.  
"I does, but what happened today is the grim situation. Someone caused an eclipse that drained me of my energy and power," Yugi said grimly.  
"That is pretty bad. Do you have an idea who it could be?" Morph said.  
"I'm afraid not, and that's what really worries us," Yami said.  
"Let's worry about that later. We do have guests over here after all," Rogue said.  
The others nodded and went to the backyard. There was a basketball court, a soccer field and a volleyball court. Professor X was only outside to watch.  
"So, what do you want to play Yugi?" Yami asked.  
"I think I have a better chance at the volleyball court," Yugi responded.  
"All right," Jubilee said as they headed over to the volleyball court. "Since the Professor is watching, it's uneven," she added.  
"I'll stand out and watch as well," Wolverine said.  
"Okay so now it will be six on six," Gambit said.  
The teams were chosen. The captains were Storm and Cyclops. It was Storm, Yami, Yugi, Nightcrawler, Rogue and Gambit vs. Cyclops, Jean, Drake Morph, Beast and Jubilee. The teams got into position on their side of the net.  
"Good luck you guys," Yugi said.  
"Thanks Yugi, same to you and the rest of your team," Cyclops said.  
The game got started by Cyclops giving the first serve. He sent the ball right to Yami in the back center. Yami hit the ball to Storm in the front center, and she set it to Gambit on her left. Gambit spiked the ball over. Beast tried to get it, but he just missed, resulting in a turnover.  
"Nice job Gambit," Yugi said.  
"Thanks," Gambit said as Storm was ready to serve.  
Storm spiked the ball. She hit it a little too hard because it went out of bounds. The game lasted a while because they were more turnovers than scored points. An hour later, the score was Storm's team 13, Cyclops team 14, going for the game point. Storm's team had the ball, and it was Yami's turn to serve.  
"Score us a point big bro," Yugi said.  
"I'll try," Yami said as he served it deep in the center.  
Morph went to return the ball. Unfortunately, Jubilee didn't see him and was also going for the ball. They collided with each other and the ball ended up right in front of both of them.  
"Are you guys all right?" Yami asked.  
"Yes Yami. We're okay," Morph responded as he helped Jubilee up.  
Jean rolled the ball under the net {1} to Yami for the next serve. The game was tied 14 up. Yami was about to give the next serve when an unknown blast caused a nearby tree to fall. Everyone scrambled to get out the way. Yugi didn't see a root in the ground and tripped over it. He was still under the bottom of the tree. He closed his eyes for the painful impact. Fortunately, it never came. He opened his eyes to see Yami effortlessly holding the tree up in front of him and looking down at him. Yami heard Yugi trip and galloped over at full throttle to help him.  
"Are you all right?" Yami asked.  
"I am now," Yugi responded.  
"How are you fairing up on your end Yami?" Rogue asked.  
"Just fine Rogue," Yami responded.  
Yugi crawled from underneath the tree and stood up. Then Yami and Rogue set the tree down.  
"That was close," Jubilee said.  
"Too close," Wolverine agreed.  
"Where did that blast come from anyway?" Yugi asked.  
"Up there," Jean responded as she pointed to a strange flying craft.  
The others looked up and made out some kind of alien markings all over the strange looking starship. Professor X recognized it right away.  
"It seems that Apocalypse has returned," Xavier said.  
"Who's that?" Yugi, Yami and Morph asked together.  
"Apocalypse was the most powerful mutant on the planet. It took us and the brotherhood or the rogue mutants that attacked us to stop him. But he's come back on several occasions to try to fulfill his evil schemes. He thinks and talks like a human male, but he has gone through a big physical change. Even though he still has a human mind and voice, he has a robot body," Xavier responded.  
Just then, two figures came from out of the craft. One was Apocalypse. He was a very tall and bulky robot. The other figure was a mystery. That is except to Yami and Yugi. Yami looked at the second figure harshly while Yugi looked at it fearfully. Xavier noticed their looks at the second figure.  
"Well Yami. It seems like we meet again," the figure said.  
"He knows you?" Jubilee asked.  
"Yes, and I know him. I wish I never did though," Yami responded as the two figures touched ground. "What do you want Kaiba?" he asked harshly.  
"Even though you went through a physical change, your attitude hasn't changed a bit," Kaiba said.  
"What do you want Kaiba?" Yami asked again just as harshly.  
"First of all, I don't go by Kaiba anymore. I prefer Eclipse. I wanted to see how your little brother was fairing up after that eclipse I caused," Kaiba said smirking when he noticed Yugi's fear of him. His smirk didn't help in calming Yugi's fear either.  
"So you were the one I sensed earlier," Yami said.  
"Why did you want to drain Yugi of his power?" Wolverine asked with a tone as harsh as Yami's.  
"Just as a test. And as I saw, the test was a complete success," Eclipse responded.  
A ball of darkness began to glow in his palm, and he shot it upwards. Yami knew the intention and quickly intercepted it with a ball of pure energy. The light from Yami's energy evaporated the dark ball.  
"Ah, so I still can't fool you. You always knew my intentions which is something I still can't figure out," Eclipse said.  
"Get out," Yami said angrily.  
"No one speaks to my second in command like that except me," Apocalypse said angrily. He shot a blast of sonic energy at Yami.  
Yami flew up and out of the way. Apocalypse then aimed at Yugi. Yami scooped up Yugi and flew out of the way with only seconds to spare. Then Yami transported Yugi to his back.  
"Let's see just how powerful you really are," Yami said. He and Yugi fired a combination of fire and solar energy at Apocalypse.  
Apocalypse's right arm turned into a shield to block the oncoming attack. Amazingly, the once believed most powerful mutant in existence was straining to keep his shield up. Even more amazing is that Yami and Yugi weren't giving their fire full intensity either. Yami and Yugi wer so focused on Apocalypse, that they failed to notice Eclipse creating another dark ball. This one successfully blocked out the sun's light. Yugi started to weaken considerably.  
"Oh no you don't Kaiba," Yami said as he bathed himself in a golden light.  
Yugi immediately began to recover due to Yami's bright light.  
"Are you okay little bro?" Yami asked.  
"I am now thanks to you," Yugi responded. He continued to draw his energy from his brother's light as his beams came at Apocalypse even stronger.  
"Let's retreat for now. All we wanted to do was see how poweful they were," Apocalypse said.  
Kaiba nodded, and they teleported back to the craft. The craft then faded away. Yami focused his light energy and shot it towards the dark ball. The ball dissipated in the light, and Yami let his light dim out.  
"That was very nice quick thinking Yami," Beast said.  
"Yes it was. Thanks for letting me draw my energy from you," Yugi said.  
"Anytime Yugi. Now we know that it will come in real handy," Yami said.  
"How do you know Eclipse?" Nightcrawler asked.  
"He and I are fierce rivals. I still don't know how I can tell the trustworthy people from the untrustworthy, but I knew that I couldn't trust him the first day I saw him. He was a year behind me, but he always tried to be a year ahead of me. He always failed because I worked to learn and give respect while he only worked to be superior to everyone, including the professors and president of the university.  
The day that really increased my dislike for him was when he hurt Yugi. It happened when Yugi spent a day at college with me. We were in the library, and Yugi was high on the ladder looking for a book to help him for his world religions class," Yami began.  
"Suddenly, someone threw a book at my head. The book was a heavy one, and knocked me unconscious," Yugi continued.  
"He fell off the ladder. I was sitting on one of the couches when I saw him falling. I hurried over and caught him just in time. Somehow, I knew that what happened was no accident. When I looked up, I saw Kaiba smirking. That told me that he threw the book at Yugi. I took Yugi to the hospital and told my mother what happened. She rushed there and arrived in half an hour; it normally took her an hour and a half to get to the hospital in the city because it was almost on the border with another city. We found out that Yugi had a severe concussion. He was out cold for three days," Yami finished.  
"How can someone be so coldhearted?" Jean asked after hearing Yami and Yugi's story.  
"For Kaiba a.k.a. Eclipse now, that's as easy as the ABC's," Yami responded. "I always felt a chill in the air whenever I was near him. Now he has his sights on you little brother."  
"I know, and I'll have to be very careful. He won't hesitate to drain me of my energy," Yugi said.  
"Agreed. Yugi, you and Yami are to really always be together from now on. As we witnessed, Yami is more than able to be your source of light," Xavier said.  
Yugi and Yami nodded. They never got separated too many times since their membership with the X-men anyway, but Yami took no chances when it came to his brother's safety. True this was being overprotective, but Yugi didn't mind one bit. Yugi knew that Yami was only looking out for him, making sure that he [Yugi] was safe. Meanwhile in another galaxy, Apocalypse and Eclipse were planning their next stage of attack. They only wanted to test Yugi and Yami out. Now that Apocalypse and Eclipse knew, they would do whatever it took to keep Yami and Yugi from interfering.  
"We need to send the brothers somewhere that will keep both of them busy for a while," Apocalypse said.  
"Let's send them to a dark place with absolutely no light. Yami will be busy keeping his little brother at full strength as they make their way through the long, dark area. Even though there are four mazes that have an end there, they won't be out of the world yet. The real challenge will be to make it out of the world because it is thousands of miles to the end. While they're trying to make their way through the world, we'll attack the other X-men again and rid ourselves of them," Eclipse said.  
"An excellent suggestion Eclipse. We'll need to have a plan to attack the other X-men, but you provided a good start," Apocalypse said. "Now we wait until the young brothers are alone."  
Meanwhile, Yami and Yugi rested inside the stable. They were talking about what happened in their encounter with the supposed most powerul mutant in existence.  
"I don't get it. Apocalypse was said to be the most powerful mutant, even as a big bad robot. But you and I took him like he was a weakling," Yugi said.  
"I don't get it either. We shouldn't have been able to take him on that easily. Maybe it's because we've grown more powerful than we think we did. Apocalypse is only the second best now because even if Eclipse tries to block out the sun's light, I can be your light source," Yami said.  
"Remember what Jean said about us? It must be our Gemini effect on each other," Yugi suggested.  
"You have a good point little bro," Yami said.  
Suddenly, Yugi felt something lifting him up. "What's going on?" he asked.  
Yami looked up and saw the alien vessel again. "It's Apocalypse," he responded. He flew up to get Yugi out of the vessel's tractor beam {2}, but he ended up getting trapped in it himself.  
They were helpless as the beam pulled them into the craft. They were in a pitch-black room. No light got in whatsoever. Yugi felt severly drained, but Yami provided light for him. In providing the light, they saw Eclipse standing by the door.  
"Where are we?" Yugi asked.  
"You're in the darkest room of this vessel. As you see, no light can get in here. We made it especially for you," Eclipse responded. "But this is not all. We're also sending you two to a world of endless mazes and darkness. You'll never get out of there, and we can destroy your mutant friends," he added before leaving and locking the door.  
"We'll see who can't get out of anything," Yami said as he aimed for the door.  
Sleeping gas filled the room. Yugi tried to dissolve it with his solar beams, but this gas had an extra ingredient that absorbed any kind of heat-related energy. Yugi and Yami were asleep in seconds. The vessel continued through space to another galaxy. It reached its destination in an hour, a very small fraction of the time that a normal shuttle would or rocket would take.  
Yugi and Yami were put into the dark world half an hour before the sleeping gas wore off. Yami woke up first. He saw how immensely dark it was. It was so dark that even flashlights wouldn't help too much if at all. All the same, it wasn't any trouble for Yami. He bathed himself in his golden light and looked around for Yugi. Yami's light was so bright, that it lit up the area far better than all the flashlights ever made could do combined.  
"Yugi? Where are you?" Yami asked.  
"Uhn, over here Yami," Yugi responded weakly.  
Yami followed his brother's voice and soon saw Yugi. Yugi slowly regained his energy as Yami's light came closer to him. He was fully revitalized when Yami stopped in front of him a few minutes later.  
"Are you all right?" Yami asked.  
"I am now. I see why this is a dark world. You can't see anything. Even a million flashlights probably wouldn't work here," Yugi responded.  
"Well, we might as well try to get out of here. It's the only way to save our friends," Yami said.  
"You will never get out of this world. All whom I sent here have died long before getting halfway through this world, and those people had the benefit of light in this area," a voice said.  
Yami and Yugi looked up to see a projected image of Apocalypse.  
"Even though it is futile to say this, if you make it out, then you will be transported back to your planet," the image said.  
"Then prepare for a first you big junk heap," Yugi said.  
"You won't sound so confident when we're out of this place scrap head," Yami agreed.  
"We'll see," the image angrily said before fading away.  
Yami lay down, and Yugi got on his back. Then Yami stood up and started walking, increasing the brightness of his light a little so they could see everything around them. They knew that having light would be the key to getting out of this world.  
  
Well, we've come to the end of another chapter. I would like to thank Crouching Tigress again for the ideas for part of this chapter. She suggested that I have Kaiba in the fic. To all the readers, please don't ask me to include another Yugioh character because this is a more X-men-centered fic than a Yugioh one. I thought Kaiba would be a good addition since he and Yami have a very heated rivalry. Anyway, Preview for Chapter 7: Running out of Time: Yami and Yugi make their way through the puzzling world. Apocalypse prepares to strike hard on the Xavier Institute. It's a race against time as Yami and Yugi try to make it out of the dark world in time to help their friends.  
  
This will be the second part of the three-chapter trilogy I decided to create.   
  
{1} I've played on my high school volleyball team during my sophomore year. You roll the ball under the net because if you throw it, then the opponent team scores. 


	7. Running out of Time

Recap: Yami, Yugi and Storm were out enjoying a peaceful flight when a strange eclipse occurred. What was even weirder was that Yugi got considerably weaker because of it. When the X-men got some unexpected but good company, they then found out the culprit behind the eclipse. It was Yami's arch rival Seto Kaiba, now known as Eclipse. Yugi and Yami found themselves captured and taken to a world of pitch black darkness. Now Yugi's only means of survival is from Yami's light.  
/ is mental talk between Yami, Jen and Professor X  
' is thoughts  
  
Chapter 7: Running out of Time  
  
Apocalypse sent Yugi and Yami to a world of absolute darkness. Because there wasn't even an ounce of light, Yugi weakened considerably because he had solar powers. Yami quickly helped by bathing himself in light for Yugi to draw energy from. Yami walked through the world with Yugi riding his back.  
"Do you think we'll make it out of here?" Yugi asked.  
"Yes I do. It will take more that this to stop me," Yami responded.  
They were in one of the mazes that Eclipse talked about. The only good thing about this world is that there were no traps. It was so long, that there wasn't a need for any traps because the people who were trapped would die from starvation and malnourishment. There was food and water in the world, but finding it was no walk down easy street. Yami stopped a few minutes later becausehe smelled water.  
"What is it Yami?" Yugi asked.  
"I smell fresh water nearby," Yami responded.  
"I didn't think that there would be water in a world like this," Yugi said.  
"Looks can be deceiving little bro. Besides, I have heightened senses, especially my sense of smell. Remember that," Yami said. He followed his nose and came to the water source a few minutes later.  
Yugi hopped off Yami's back, and Yami lay down next to the water. They both drank their fill because they were pretty thirsty. Then Yami saw a ground of fair-sized trout swimming in the water. He created a spear line. He waited a couple of minutes and then he threw the spear into the water. The spear hit its mark, and Yami pulled in the fish. He took the now dead fish off the spear, and Yugi used his powers to cook it.  
"Nice fishing big bro," Yugi said.  
"Thanks Yugi. That was my first time actually," Yami said.  
"Well, you are a fast learner after all," Yugi said.  
"As are you," Yami said.  
They ate the cooked fish. Half an hour later, Yugi climbed on Yami's back, and Yami walked off again. Yami caught a bunch of trout to take with them just in case they couldn't find food when they needed it. He created a bag that would keep the fish fresh. He didn't know that he already had finding food in the bag. For in this world, if you found water, you always found food as well.  
Meanwhile, the X-men wondered what happened to Yugi and Yami. Jean went inside the stable to find it empty. It was clearly evident that something happened to Yami and Yugi because their food was still in there. She immediately told the others.  
"I just wish we knew what happened to them," Jubilee said.  
"I know what you mean Jubilee," Morph said.  
"I saw some kind of green light. When I got to the area, the light was gone, and so was what created it," Cyclops said.  
"Did you say green light?" Professor X asked.  
"Yes I did Professor," Cyclops responded.  
"Apocalypse took them," the Professor said.  
"Are you certain?" Jean asked.  
"Yes Jean. I'm certain," Professor X responded. /Yami, are you there?/ he asked.  
/Yes Professor, I can hear you/ Yami responded.  
/Where are you?/ Professor X asked.  
/Yugi and I got sent to a completely dark world. The only way Yugi can survive is my being a light source to him/ Yami responded.  
"What did you find out Professor?" Storm asked.  
"Yami said that he and Yugi are in a world of absolute darkness and that there is no light whatsoever," the Professor responded.  
"It's a good thing they're together. Yami can keep his brother strong," Beast said.  
"That's what Yami said," Professor X said.  
"We can only hope that they return safely," Rogue added.  
The others nodded and hoped for Yami and Yugi's safe return. Meanwhile, Apocalypse and Eclipse were scheming how to rid themselves of the X-men. With Yami and Yugi in the dark world, they knew that they could easily take out the others since Yami and Yugi were the most powerful of them.  
"We can't pass up the golden opportunity we created master. With their two most powerful members out of the way, we can easily overpower them," Eclipse said.  
"Yes my loyal servant, we can. We have to divide them. Even though we are more powerful than they are, they are pretty powers together," Apocalypse said.  
"I get it. We're going to perform the old 'Divide and Conquer' routine," Eclipse said.  
"Yes we are. It may be old, but it works more times than none," Apocalypse said. "Now, we have to figure out how to separated them. Once we do, we attack at full force."  
Meanwhile, Yami had successfully made it through one maze in only an hour. One thing that he and Yugi shared was a good sense of direction. If eithre one of them got lost, then they wouldn't stay lost for long because they had always managed to get back on track. This case is no exception. They worked together to get out of the maze. They saw a stone tablet before the entrance of the next maze.  
The tablet read: You're lucky if you made it to only this maze because very few have gotten out of the first maze. This maze is twice as long as the first so expect to be here for a while. The only word of caution is to look out for the pitfalls due to the earthquakes here.  
"Well, we have to tread more carefully than we did the first maze Yami," Yugi said.  
"Yes we do Yugi," Yami agreed, "but not before we get some rest. I can sense that it's night here."  
Yugi nodded and hopped off Yami's back. He lay down next to Yami, and Yami laid down himself. Yami dimmed his light to a regular level before he fell asleep with Yugi. The dimmed light didn't affect the way Yugi drew his energy; Yami dimmed the light so they would both be able to sleep without a bright light waking them up. They slept without problems the entire night. Yami was the first to awaken the next morning.  
"Wake up Yugi," Yami said before brightening his light again.  
Yugi awakened and Yami made the bag of fish appear. He took some out, and Yugi cooked it with his powers. Then they walked through the maze. Yugi stayed close to Yami. They walked for an hour, but only got through a quarter of the maze because they took a wrong turn after making it to the halfway point fairly quickly and ended up back at the entrance when they got turned around.  
"Well we know not to go that way again. We would've been father if we did....Aaahhh!" Yugi said, falling into one of the recently created pitfalls.  
"Gotcha!" Yami said, bending down as he firmly gripped Yugi's hand just in time.  
Yugi shook in fright, even though Yami had his hand.  
"It's all right Yugi. I've gotcha," Yami said.  
Yugi calmed down a little, and Yami pulled him up. Yugi still breathed pretty hard. He jumped at Yami, wrapping his arms around Yami's neck. Yami embraced his little brother. In all honesty, he didn't blame how Yugi reacted. He [Yami] probably would have reacted the same way if he didn't have wings.  
"Calm down Yugi. You're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you," Yami said, continuing to embrace Yugi.  
Yugi finally calmed down after half an hour. "Thanks Yami. I'm ready now," he said.  
"Anytime little bro," Yami said.  
Then they continued through the maze. They reached the halfway point in half an hour. The halfway point was a split path. The right path lead them back to the entrance, so they knew to take the left one. Sure, enough, they were out of the twice as long maze in an hour.  
"I can't believe that it took us an hour to make it out of here. This maze was supposed to be longer than the first," Yugi said.  
"Apocalypse isn't the one to fool anyone about something like this Yugi. I think that we found a shorter way through this maze," Yami said.  
"I think you're right," Yugi confirmed. "We need to get out of here though. Our friends will be a Apocalypse's mercy if we don't."  
"I know Yugi. That's why we will get out of here and stop Apocalypse," Yami said.  
Back on earth, Apocalypse was just about ready to carry out his scheme. He bargained with the rogue mutants to help him with his divide and conquer technique. The bargain was the enslavement of the human race for helping to conquer the X-men. The rogue mutants willingly accepted the bargain. They found enslaving the human race very appealing. He also had Brainchild and the strange female mutant join him.  
"The X-men won't stand a chance against us after we separate them," Eclipse said.  
"They'll outnumber us just a little, but my sonic powers can easily make up for that," the strange female mutant said.  
"Good idea. When you take care of one of the X-men, I'll have my teleport machine take you to where another one is," Apocalypse said. "We need to do this as soon as possible because I can sense that the brothers have made it through the third maze already," he added.  
"How can this be?" Eclipse said.  
"Call them extremely lucky," Apocalypse said. "But they have one more maze before the greatest challenge happens. The world may only have four mazes, but they still won't be out of the world."  
"Yeah, the dark world is tens of thousands of miles across. It will take them weeks to get out," Eclipse said.  
"I just thought of something else. They might have been able to find the short way out of the three mazes. But there will be no shorter way out once they make it out of the fourth maze," Brainchild said.  
Brainchild was right about one thing. Yami and Yugi did find the shorter ways out of the first three mazes. They did the same with the fourth maze, making it out in only 45 minutes. Then they saw a tablet on a pedestal.  
The tablet read: You are exceptionally good if you have made it this far. But that will most definitely end here. Now the biggest challenge comes. Even after going through the four mazes, you aren't close to being 1/4 of the way out of this world yet.  
"Well, we better get going. This will be the longest distance we had to cover in our lives," Yami said, transporting Yugi to his back.  
Meanwhile, the renegade mutants, Apocalypse, Eclipse and Brainchile began to put their plot in action. Apocalypse teleported the X-men to separate parts of his large space ship. The X-men were completely separated from one another. Cyclops made his way through the enormous ship, trying to find his friends. He didn't make it that far before the strange female mutant confronted him.  
"You will not leave this ship," the mutant said.  
"That is where you're wrong," Cyclops retorted.  
"We'll see," the mutant said. She used her sonic powers on Cyclops.  
Just like what happened in the Savage Lands, Cyclops went unconscious. The female mutant smirked. Because Yami and Yugi were occupied somewhere else, the divide and conquer technique would be a huge success. Apocalypse sensed that she was done and teleported her to another part of the ship to await another one of the X-men.  
Professor X had come face to face with Magneto. He also wandered through the ship in search for the others.  
"Well Charles, it looks like we meet again. But this will be the last time," Magneto said.  
"Eric, why are you doing this?" Professor X asked.  
"I'm doing this because the enslavement of humans has been my greatest desire. A desire that I will finally have," Magneto responded. Enough talk Charles. It's time to see which one of us is the strongest." He fired a magnetic beam at Professor X.  
The Professor got out of the way with no time to spare. He knew that he had to outlast Magneto because he could sense barriers around Magneto's mind. 'This must be Apocalypse's doing. He must've found a way to protect the mind from psychics,' he thought.  
Back in the dark world, Yami and Yugi hadn't gotten that far at all. They had stopped to sleep because Yami had walked until nightfall. So far it has been a full twelve hours and they weren't even close to being 1/4 of the way out of the world yet. They awakened the next morning and ate the last of the fish they had. They knew that they had to find food soon.  
A few hours later, Yami smelled water again. He found a large river a few minutes later. This river was bittersweet. It provided them with the food and water they needed, but this river flowed a great distance.  
"Can I try to catch a fish Yami?" Yugi asked.  
"Of course Yugi," Yami responded before creating the spear line again. He gave it to Yugi.  
There were a lot of trout, salmon, snapper and catfist swimming around. Yugi waited for the right moment before throwing the spear into the river. He was off, but ont by much. He pulled the spear back up.  
"Nice try Yugi. You were very close. Next time, wait for the fist to stop before you throw the spear. You'll most likely miss if you throw the spear while the fish is still moving," Yami said.  
Yugi nodded and gave it another try. He waited for the fish to stop before throwing the spear. This time, he was successful and caught two fish, a salmon and a snapper on the spear.  
"Nice going Yugi. You did a better than me that time," Yami said.  
"Thanks Yami, but I have you to thank because you showed me how to do it," Yugi said. He ended up catching a lot more fish, and Yami put them in a magical bag again.  
"Now, let's clear this river," Yami said. He spread his wings and made a path over the large river.  
The river was very long. By nightfall, the only thing that they saw continued to be river. Luckily though, there were banks on both sides to rest on. Yami landed on the bank, and Yugi dismounted him.  
"We covered quite a bit of ground, but it seems like we only went ten feet," Yugi said.  
"I agree Yugi. This world is very long. We probably still aren't 1/4 of the way through. But we have to get out in order to rescue our friends," Yami said.  
"I just hope it's not too late when we do get out," Yugi said.  
That was the big concern right now. Yugi and Yami still had a ridiculously long way to go. Meanwhile, the X-men weren't faring so well against Apocalypse and his band of renegade mutants. Storm, Jubilee and Rogue were the only ones that weren't captured yet. After barely escaping their opponents, they met up and decided to stay together.  
"I hope that we can find the others before getting captured ourselves," Jubilee said.  
"We all do Jubilee," Rogue said. She carried Jubilee through the air with Storm flying beside her. "If we get captured, then our only hop is that Yami and Yugi make it out of the dark world in time."  
"I have faith that they will make it out in time. I have never seen determination like they have. It's like a raging fire that cannot be put out," Storm said.  
Meanwhile, Yami and Yugi slept for the night after having their dinner. They were determined to make it out of the world in time. The river was only about an additional ten miles long. The end of the long river was actually 1/4 of the way through the world. One-quarter of the way through the world meant that 10,000 miles had been covered.  
Needless to say that Yami was very tired after flying all that way. But he wouldn't let that stop him. As he proved today, he would go until he couldn't go on anymore. The next morning, Yugi and Yami had some of the remaining fish. Half an hour later, Yugi mounted Yami, and Yami took off through the air.  
"Are you sure that you can handle being in the air for as long as you were yesterday?" Yugi asked.  
"Yes Yugi, I can handle it. We need to get out of here as quick as we can," Yami responded.  
It was another two days before they they found a tablet saying that they were halfway out of the world. They were looking at about four more days before they were finally out of the dark world. To them, four days couldn't come soon enough. Meanwhile, Storm, Jubilee and Rogue had run into Mystique and the Blob. It was a fight not to get captured.  
"You and your friends are coming with us Rogue," Mystique said.  
"Not without a fight shape shifter," Rogue said venomously.  
Mystique was in shock for a few minutes at the harshness of Rogue's voice. Then she seethed in anger. "You dare to take that tone of voice with me. You wouldn't be who you are if it weren't for me," she said.  
"You mean what you forced me to do. That superhero is still in a coma because of me listening to you. Well it won't happen ever again," Rogue said.  
Storm flew into the air. "I summon the coldness of the ice and snow. Give me the power to immobilize the Blob," she said as a cold wind blew through the ship.  
The cold wind then blew ice and snow into the ship. The wind blew pretty hard. Since the Blob wasn't wearing anything warm, he immediately felt the chill.  
"Hey, who turned off the heat?" the Blob asked.  
The snow gradually started to piling up around the Blob. The snowstorm stopped about an hour later. The snow was up to the Blob's chest. He tried to get out, but his very fat body made it just about impossible. The snow fanned out for about twenty feet all around him and acted like quicksand when he tried to get out.  
"Hey, let me out of here," the Blob said.  
"Not on your life blubber boy," Jubilee said.  
"Well Mystique, it looks like it's just you and me," Rogue said.  
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Mystique said before transforming into Wolverine. "Let's dance."  
Meanwhile, Yugi and Yami were getting closer to being out of the large world. By nightfall, found a tablet that told them that they were 3/4 of the way out. It would only be about a day to a day and a half before they were finally out. they slept for the night, preparing to finally be out of the dark world. The next morning, they had the last of their fish before flying through tair again a half hour afterwards.  
"We're almost home free. It will be good to get out of this dark world," Yugi said. "I had enough of this vast blackness."  
"I agree with you. It will be good to see the sun again," Yami said.  
They didn't have much time left. Meanwhile, Rogue just about had Mystique on the ropes. Then a few more renegade mutants came to Mystique and the Blob's aid. One of the renegade mutants was the strange female mutant. She used her powers to render Rogue, Storm and Jubilee helpless.  
Now all of the X-men were captured and in the ship where captives were held. They were in a cell that had negatively charged energy bars. Their fate was yet to be decided. But the thing that could safely be assumed was that their fate wasn't goint to be a good one.  
"Now that all of you are our prisoners, we need to decide how we're going to get rid of you," Eclipse said.  
"You won't be getting rid of us any time soon moon boy," Wolverine retorted.  
"You are in no position to talk to us like that. Our energy machine has taken away your mutant powers. You are like ordinary people without your powers to help you," Eclipse said. "What shall we do with them master?" he added.  
"I still have to decide. But you'll be part of lashing out their fat when I do decide," Apocalypse said.  
Eclipse smirked. He couldn't wait to have his way with the X-men. But what he and Apocalypse didn't know yet was that they would soon have Yami and Yugi to deal with. By nightfall, Yami spotted a tablet and landed next to it.  
The tablet read: You are incredibly lucky Yami and Yugi. You made it to the end of this world. But your X-men friends are now our prisoners. You'll never help them in time.  
Then Yami and Yugi were transported out of the world. They found themselves back in the stable in the backyard of the Xavier Institute.  
"Boy is it good to be back here," Yugi said before dismounting Yami.  
"I know what you mean. Let's rest and then we can begin our search for our friends in the morning," Yami said.  
"Okay," Yugi said.  
They prepared their dinner and went into the stable. They ate in the stable. Then they spent a few hours just stargazing before finally falling asleep. Now that they were out of Apocalypse's dark world, they were determined to find and rescue their friends. The race against time would begin in the morning.  
  
Finally, here's the next chapter. Having a brain freeze is torture. I changed chapter 6 a little so that this chapter wouldn't seem so confusing. In other words, if this confuses you a little bit, re-read chapter 6. Chapter 8 will not only be the end to this three-chapter trilogy, but it will also be the end of this fic. I promise that the last chapter will be a long one. Preview for Chapter 8: The Rescue Mission: Yami and Yugi are out of the dark world. Apocalypse senses that the brothers are back and comes up with one final challenge. This challenge will decide the fate of the X-men and the world.  
  
Stay tuned out there all you Yugioh readers because I will be updating the next chapter to Not Really A Demon soon. After that, the next chapter to Ides of Manhattan will be updated. 


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